Nothing in Tennis
by Hopeakaarme
Summary: Time does change people, but surely not this much? As Dan starts high school, Akutsu and Sengoku are forced to investigate the changes in him. What they discover is neither pretty nor easy to deal with. SenDan, AkuDan, AkuSenDan. NaNoWriMo 07 fic. Angst.
1. Discoveries

Disclaimer: I own very little.

A/N: This fic is 40.5-AU. Much though I love the new details, this was written before the book came out, so they obviously weren't included, and I'm not going to rewrite entire chapters due to new facts about ten percent of the fanbase ever bother to find out.

* * *

Nothing in Tennis

_"Love means nothing in tennis, but in life, it is everything."_

_- Anonymous_

Prologue

Discoveries

It was with no little surprise that Akutsu found himself in high school.

Sure, he wasn't stupid. If he had been, he wouldn't have passed middle school in the first place, not with the amount of time he spent playing hooky instead of listening to the idiotic teachers. He was thus not surprised he had passed the entrance exams – what he didn't know, however, was exactly what had made him take the exams in the first place.

It couldn't be his mother, however much she had nagged – he wasn't exactly in the habit of listening to her, after all. He could not understand why she seemed so excited about it, either. Stupid woman. She certainly had better uses for her hard-earned money than his schooling, yet she seemed happy at the chance to waste more money on him. Well, fuck.

It certainly wasn't the fault of his teachers, either. They all seemed even more shocked than he was. After all, they'd spent years telling him he'd never amount to anything. He was a waste of space in the classroom according to them; to think that such a useless delinquent would be attending school voluntarily was unbelievable.

Well, fuck them. They were teachers, right? They were supposed to think of their students' future. Weren't they supposed to be happy that he was volunteering to sit through more mind-numbing torture also called classes? Even if he didn't know why, himself.

Fuck it, he'd show them all. No matter what they thought, he wasn't completely useless. He'd go to high school and pass his courses even if it was only to flip one at the stupid old geezers. Show he was smarter than them. Even if it would make Dan squeal.

Dan. Maybe there was his reason. Suddenly he recalled big brown eyes and a bright smile and an excited voice asking him which high schools he'd apply for desu, like there was never any doubt he would. And then the endless nagging when he had told he hadn't thought about it.

Fuck if he ever told the kid that, though. Gods knew the brat would never shut up.

He was going to get quite enough squeals as it was, just for starting the stupid school.

* * *

In the end he could have been more surprised, really. After all, he'd always been attracted to practically all girls. Of course, he preferred the pretty ones, but any who didn't make little kids have nightmares were good for flirting. It wasn't that much of a stretch to think that he would like pretty people who weren't even female.

Of course, at first he'd been somewhat confused. The ones he first found attractive all were of the "pretty boy" type, and for some time he thought it was their nigh-androgynous beauty that fascinated him. Then, however, he woke up to find his sheets sticky after a dream of Akutsu. If Akutsu could make him excited, Sengoku concluded, he was attracted to males without a doubt. There was nothing androgynous and definitely nothing even remotely feminine about Akutsu.

Thus, it was Akutsu in the end who made Sengoku come to the conclusion he was actually bisexual instead of completely straight. Not that he'd ever tell the other boy that, of course. Akutsu'd probably freak out and kill him or something.

He almost wanted to thank Akutsu for appearing in his dream, though. After all, this realization meant he had twice as many targets now.

Look out, both boys and girls. Your dreams are about to come true.

* * *

"Game, set, and match. Won by Yamabuki's Dan Taichi, 6 games to 3!"

Dan listened almost impassively as his victory was announced. It wasn't that he was uninterested in winning; even though it was but a small tournament, he took pride in his victory. However, at the moment his attention was elsewhere due to some… disturbing occurrences.

During the match he had, a couple of times, noticed something peculiar about the way the opponent returned his shots – or tried to return them, and failed. If he could figure out the reason, he might be able to utilize it and corporate it into a move. Also, given that he had data on all the most powerful special shots in the middle school tennis world, he was fairly sure such a move did not exist already. If he managed to analyze the pattern, he'd be the one to create it.

And this was exactly what bothered him about the possibility.

If he didn't imitate anyone else's moves, instead making up his own, there would be not data to base everything on. Instead, he would have to come up with his own data, experimenting and confirming and upgrading. It was somewhat fairer, he supposed, to work hard for your own moves instead of reaping the fruits of others' work, but still…

Dan wasn't used to it, quite simply. He wasn't used to leading, even if it was only himself who would follow. Retracing paths others had already opened was much easier, much more logical. If he ventured out on his own he'd have no idea of the outcome, no guarantee of success. Where before he'd always known he'd reach his goal if only he tried hard enough, if he started foolishly rethinking his tennis, the only result might be waste of his time and potential.

But if he only kept imitating others, he could never surpass those he imitated.

Perhaps it was indeed time to stop gathering data and start creating it.


	2. Sunlight and Smiles

Disclaimer: I own very little.

A/N: This fic is 40.5-AU. Much though I love the new details, this was written before the book came out, so they obviously weren't included, and I'm not going to rewrite entire chapters due to new facts about ten percent of the fanbase ever bother to find out.

* * *

Nothing in Tennis

_"Love means nothing in tennis, but in life, it is everything."_

_- Anonymous_

Chapter 1

Sunlight and Smiles

It was, indeed, a very lovely spring day. This was clear even on the tennis courts of Yamabuki High School, where the various boys were more concentrated on training than enjoying the beauty of the day. Well, for the most part, they were.

One of them, though, wearing the regulars' uniform, simply leant against a wire fence as he watched the others train. Occasionally he would bark out an order or two, or pause to ogle at a pretty girl – or boy – passing by. For the most part, however, he seemed to be enjoying the sunshine, forgoing practice altogether.

Suddenly, he felt a poke on his back. Someone had obviously dared to strike their finger through the wire fence and disturb him. Now, this was an unforgivable offence. Whoever had done it was going to pay, he decided, pushing himself off the fence and twirling around to see whoever had disturbed him.

At first, he didn't see anything. Then, a chuckle drew his gaze lower, first to a head of somewhat messy blue hair, then a worn green headband. Below this were big brown eyes looking up at him, sparkling with delight.

"Hey there, Sengoku-senpai desu," said the little creature in front of him, a bright smile on his face. "Slacking off now that you're the captain?"

"Dan-kun!" exclaimed Sengoku, delighted. He would have liked to hug the smaller boy, and would have done so if not for the fence. "In fact, I wasn't. I was observing," he then said with a mockingly serious tone even as is eyes still sparkled with humour. "It is a captain's duty, you know!"

"Suuure desu." Dan cocked his head to the side, still smiling. "I never knew you'd become so lazy when I'm not keeping an eye on you, Sengoku-senpai."

"You know it, Dan-kun," the redhead chuckled. Then, he shook his head, still smiling. "Nah. Actually, I was waiting for you to show up. It's not every day my favourite kouhai joins the club, after all!"

"Oh, stop it desu," Dan muttered, an absolutely adorable flush rising to his cheeks. "We've hardly even met in the last two years desu!"

"Indeed," sighed Sengoku. "And it tears at my heart, yes it does!" He then nodded towards the door in the fence. "Come on in here. I'll introduce you to the rest of the team. And then, we can both get back to practice, o serious one."

Dan stuck out his tongue. "I just don't want you to get any worse than you already are, Sengoku-senpai desu," he said with a somewhat teasing tone.

"You wound me," Sengoku replied cheerfully. Then, he turned towards the courts again. Some of the players had noticed their captain talking with someone, and it was about the time the rest of them did, too. "Oi, everyone!" he shouted. "Gather up here! I've something to tell you all!"

After a moment, some questions, a lot of chatter, and some squabbling, the whole club was standing in front of him in somewhat passable rows. Yamabuki High's tennis club had never been particularly known for its discipline, and as long as they were indeed known for their skills, Sengoku was not about to change that tradition in the time he was the captain. Now, he eyed his not-so-disciplined team.

"This," he said, gesturing towards the small boy next to him, "is Dan Taichi. He is starting as a first-year in both the school and the team. He may look small," Dan flushed a bit again, "but he's got enough energy for someone twice his size, so no bullying the little one, do you hear me?"

"It's nice to meet you desu!" Dan said, the flush on his face due to half embarrassment, half excitement. "I'll work hard and do my best desu!"

"Of course, this means some changes to the line-up," Sengoku then said. "I was thinking that out of the current regulars, we could drop –"

"Wait a moment," a voice spoke up from the middle of the group, where the second-years were standing. "You mean you're going to make him a regular right away?"

"Of course," Sengoku said, blinking a bit. "He's certainly good enough."

"But he's just a first-year!" another voice joined the complaints. "First-years should be picking up balls and practicing swings, not playing actual games!" A few others murmured approvingly even though no one else voiced their opinion quite as fiercely.

Sengoku sighed. "Fine," he snapped. "I'll make a bet with you lot, okay? I'm betting on Dan-kun." Eyeing the noisiest complainers, he said, "Anyone who questions my decision may play a match against Dan-kun – of course, taking into account the strain if he has to play several matches in a row. If any of you win one game – not even a match, a single game – from him, he'll be picking balls with the other first years for at least a month. If, however, you don't, none of those who played against him have any chance of being regulars for at least two months. Agreed?"

The second-years seemed somewhat taken aback, probably due to his surprisingly serious tone. However, there were no complaints. Apparently they were that confident in their skills.

Turning towards the boy in question, Sengoku raised his eyebrows. "Is this okay, Dan-kun?" he said. "I know it sounds harsh, but I have faith in you."

"It's fine, Sengoku-senpai desu," Dan replied with a smile. "I wouldn't mind picking balls, really." The gentle smile turned into something else for a second, something almost predator-like. Sengoku blinked, not having seen such an expression on the younger boy's face before. "But then," Dan continued, "I'm not about to pick them, so my opinion does not matter desu."

"That's the spirit," laughed Sengoku. "Okay, who's the first one?"

It wasn't awfully hard to find a volunteer. However confident both Sengoku and Dan seemed in the little boy's skills, he was still awfully small and probably looked like easy prey. They knew Sengoku well enough not to always take him seriously besides, and they probably thought of Dan as just another overly confident first-year about to learn a lesson. Ah, well. Someone would learn his lesson, indeed, but it wasn't going to be Dan, of that Sengoku was sure.

The first match started peacefully enough with the second-year's serve. He was a good player, not regular level but good enough. Nevertheless, Dan returned his serve easily. After a short rally, the younger boy scored. The same formula applied to the next few balls. The opponent seemed somewhat baffled – as well as annoyed – as it was announced Dan had won the first game.

Sengoku smirked as Dan got ready to serve. Muromachi by his side, as well as the others who had been in the middle school team – all regulars even now –, smiled as well. They knew all too well what would happen, now.

The opponent could not know, though. He ran to meet what he assumed to be a somewhat normal serve. To his misfortune, though, it was anything but normal. With more strength than could be expected from such a small boy's serve, the ball bounced up from the ground, heading right towards the opponent's face. Not having time to sidestep it, the poor boy was hit with the ball.

"No way," someone gasped. "It's the Twist Serve!"

"Indeed." Sengoku grinned. "Nice, Dan-kun!" he then shouted, gaining an embarrassed flush and a mumbled thank-you from Dan. And then, the sight of another Twist Serve. And another. And another.

The originally somewhat cocky second-year didn't seem as sure of himself as it was again the time for his serve. He seemed somewhat baffled, too, as Dan switched the racquet to his left hand. Sengoku's grin got even broader. Time to play seriously, it seemed.

If Dan had before been good enough, now he was even better. It seemed he was almost toying with his opponent, not that Dan would ever do something like that. He was far too nice for such tricks. That was exactly what made him so adorable – well, part of the reason, at least.

Dan had grown a bit since his first year of middle school, Sengoku observed. Not much, really, he couldn't have gained more than a few centimetres of height, at least, and didn't look much broader either. However, while his size hadn't changed much, there was something else in him, something different. A kind of confidence, perhaps, and definite strength and balance in the way he moved, every step seeming calculated yet natural. He was still a kid, but not the clumsy, scrawny kid he had used to be.

Dan ran towards the net, suddenly, his ponytail flowing behind him. His hair was longer than before, too; it could have never been worn in a ponytail just three years ago. It gave him a bit more mature look, although not by much. However old he was, he would always look young in Sengoku's eyes.

His skills had developed, too, but that was hardly a surprise. Sengoku had been keeping a close track of his favourite kouhai's achievements. He knew of all the matches, all the victories. It was due to this that he hadn't hesitated for a moment to make the bet. It certainly wasn't going to be Dan who wouldn't make a regular, here.

A feint, making the opponent run to one side, then hitting the ball into the opposite direction. Score. Dan was working at an easy pace, not even breathing hard yet, yet he seemed to have no difficulty with breaking his opponent's serve time and time again. A precise lob, pinpointed on the back line – had Dan moved on to imitate other Seigaku players aside from Echizen, now? Interesting – and he won yet another game.

Seeing the younger boy preparing to serve with his right hand again, Sengoku grinned. Oh, but there was something that would be even more interesting. "What's this, Dan-kun?" he asked with a somewhat teasing tone. "Only using other people's moves? My, my, and I thought you were more original than that."

"I don't want to use it yet desu," Dan replied seriously. "I don't want to scare them away."

"Just do it, Dan-kun," Sengoku replied cheerfully. "A good scare every now and then will only do them good. This one should be good enough for it to work."

Dan raised his eyebrows. "Fine, Sengoku-buchou." With this, he switched the racquet into his left hand. The other club members eyed each other curiously. None of them seemed to know what was about to come – aside from the regulars, the majority of whom was grinning. They did know their Dan-kun well enough.

Dan looked at his opponent, his head cocked to the side. "Please have pity on me," he said with a sweet smile. Then, with no further ado, he served.

There was no peculiar form, no special twist, no surprising strikes. Just your usual, run-of-the-mill tennis serve, almost too easy to return as it headed right towards the opponent – or that was what it looked like. Dan's opponent obviously thought so, too, as he prepared to return the ball right away.

At the last moment, though, his racquet twitched to the side, letting the ball pass by untouched. He seemed even more shocked than the stunned audience.

"Oi, what are you doing?" shouted another second-year from the side of the court. "That was so easy you should be able to return it in your sleep!"

"I know!" replied the playing – and losing – boy. "It's just – my racquet just –"

"Wouldn't hit it?" Sengoku guessed cheerfully. "Surprise, surprise, except not." He grinned broadly. "Come on, Dan-kun. Do it again."

With another adorable smile, Dan dug a ball from his pocket. "Please have pity on me," he said. And served.

By the time the game was over, the opponent was yet to touch the ball even once.

"What is that serve?" gasped the humiliated boy. "It's impossible to return! Whenever I try to, my hand refuses to do so!"

"Not impossible, no," Sengoku said. "Just extremely difficult. I'm not sure if I would manage." He winked. "It takes a great deal of self-control to overcome your instincts, after all."

"Instincts?" echoed someone. "What do you mean, Sengoku-buchou?"

"I don't know the exact workings of it," Sengoku replied. "It's called the Puppy Dog Serve because returning it is described as hard as kicking a begging puppy. Basically, Dan-kun puts such a spin on the ball that it moves ideally along its chosen path. Those who have good tennis skills sometimes instinctively sense where they should hit the ball. However, the spin tricks the instincts into believing the ball should just go on. It's practically impossible to hit it back without a lot of will power." He glanced over at the small boy who was yet to break a sweat. "Isn't that it, Dan-kun?"

"Basically, yeah desu," Dan replied. "I've never managed to fully analyze it, really, not that I haven't tried desu. I just know it works desu."

"And as long as that is true, it's a great move regardless of how it works." Sengoku winked. "Especially since it doesn't have any restrictions, either."

"Well, it depends desu," Dan said cheerfully. "I can't do it right away, I have to get used to the current conditions, but other than that it's good for whenever." Turning towards his opponent, he gave the other boy a dazzling smile. "Shall we continue desu?"

Sengoku had to admire the second-year's stubbornness – or perhaps stupidity. Either way, the other indeed wanted to continue the match, which ended somewhat unsurprisingly in his utter defeat. Dan still wasn't breathing hard, eyeing the older boy carefully.

"Don't mind it, you were really good!" he said encouragingly, actually sounding like he meant it. "I'm sure next time you'll do a lot better desu!" Then, he turned to look at the rest of the team. "So, who wanted to go next desu?" he asked, smiling.

The previously so disgruntled second-years now eyed each other warily. The boy Dan had defeated was no master, but he was definitely not bad, either. To see him won so easily had made them somewhat wary. They probably wouldn't need much more pushing now…

Ah, well. Dan didn't need to make any enemies during his first day in the club. Time to interfere. "Oh, and one more thing," Sengoku said, walking to the little boy's side. "You know how Yamabuki Middle School made it to the Nationals finals last year?" Everyone nodded. They weren't quite that ignorant, after all. "Lucky! Now, Dan-kun here," Sengoku ruffled the blue hair, making Dan flush a bit, "was the captain that took them here. He only lost one match – and that was to Echizen Ryoma. You know, Japan's number one." He winked. "Anyone still want to challenge him?"

He was somewhat unsurprised as no one stepped forward.

"So, it's decided," Sengoku said cheerfully. "Dan-kun is going to be a regular from now on. I'll announce some time this week who's going to step down to make room for him. And no, Dan-kun, don't even think of protesting," he said. "You should know how teams work, you were a captain yourself. The best players are regulars, period." After another glance around to make sure no one was protesting, he then grinned some more. "Okay! Practice's over for today. Just prepare to work twice as hard tomorrow!"

The groans from the other boys went unheard as Sengoku concentrated on the voice right next to him. "You really shouldn't have said such things desu," Dan protested, a faint flush on his cheeks. "I'm not that great, we just had a good team last year desu."

"And modest, too," Sengoku chuckled. The other club members started to trickle towards the club house, but he was in no hurry for now. He'd have to stay last, anyway – he and Muromachi took turns locking up the club house, and today was his turn. "Look, Dan-kun, you are great. Not everyone is made the captain, after all. And not every captain manages to take their team to the Nationals, no matter how good the team."

"But I lost desu!" Dan insisted. "Against Ryoma-kun, too, even though I have the most data on him! And just when it counted, too."

"Yeah, sure," snorted Sengoku. "Because it's such a shame to lose to Japan's number one player in your age group in the Singles One match of the nationals finals. Clearly, being only the second best means you are absolutely pitiful."

"I'm not the second best," Dan said. "Not officially desu. I didn't participate in any tournaments but the school ones, either desu."

"Which only has the very best players. Stop thinking so lowly of yourself, Dan-kun. Even Akutsu lost to Echizen, and you know Akutsu's not a bad player, right?"

"Of course not!" Dan exclaimed, a whole new fire lighting up his eyes. "Akutsu-senpai is the best player ever! Nobody can be as good as him desu!"

"You see?" Sengoku grinned. "Losing to Echizen doesn't mean you can't be a great player. Now shut up and stop trying to make a liar out of your captain."

Dan sighed. "…Fine, Sengoku-buchou desu."

"Lucky, my kouhai's so obedient." Sengoku ruffled the blue hair again. "Now, be a great player for my team, okay? I'll be counting on you in the next tournament."

The flush intensified. "…I'll try my best desu."

"I know you will." And Sengoku did know. Looking after the retreating boy, he smiled happily. The team had indeed gained a strong addition.

Just as he was about to head towards the club room himself, Sengoku caught sight of movement in the corner of his eye. Spinning around, he saw no one. However, he was sure he had glimpsed something – something that looked very much like a grey-haired boy disappearing behind a corner.

A broad grin spread over his face. Apparently Dan was even more interesting than he thought.

With some luck, they might actually manage to tempt Akutsu openly onto the courts. 


	3. Changes

Disclaimer: I own very little.

* * *

Nothing in Tennis

_"Love means nothing in tennis, but in life, it is everything."_

_- Anonymous_

Chapter 2

Changes 

It was, Sengoku decided, very good to have Dan in the team. He was the same happy boy as ever, easily making everyone adore him – even those who had at first protested at his making instantly a regular. It seemed whenever Dan was around, everybody was happier. And he was good at playing, too.

They often spent the breaks during the practice catching up. They'd been somewhat out of touch for the last couple of years – while they'd met occasionally, it had been exactly that, occasional. Especially the last year had been too busy for them to meet often, what with it being Dan's last year of middle school, the schoolwork eating up his time along with his captain's duties.

Of course, Sengoku wasn't the only senpai with whom Dan had reunited. The little boy seemed to be in heaven as he first ran into Akutsu. To be in the same school with his precious Akutsu-senpai again – what more could a boy ask for? Apparently nothing, judging by Dan's beaming smile as he squealed, "Akutsu-senpai!" and ran to hug the object of his adoration.

Hug. Hug Akutsu. Sengoku was probably the only one in sight whose eyes weren't about to fall from his head, and even he was startled. Sure, he had known that Dan missed Akutsu, but that much? He'd had no idea. Or had the kid become suicidal, perhaps?

For some reason, however, Dan actually survived the ordeal. Sure, he was shaken off immediately, gaining a glare from Akutsu. However, the grey-haired delinquent didn't even bother to hit the boy, instead sighing in apparent boredom as Dan launched his bubbly flow of greetings and catching up and I-missed-yous all at once. The onlookers turned away one by one as they realized the idiotic first-year surprisingly wasn't about to end up as a stain on the school yard. Sengoku, however, kept watching, noticing the minute change in Akutsu's gaze whenever the golden eyes were directed at Dan.

Hmmm, interesting. Definitely interesting.

Not only did he latch onto the oh so precious senpai whenever he saw him during lunch break or such, Dan actually managed to drag him into the practice. Of course, he couldn't force Akutsu to join the team, but the grey-haired boy watched the practice every now and then, making nasty comments about everyone's skills and generally being mean. Sengoku didn't like this, but he would have liked it even less if Akutsu's notions hadn't been true. As it was, though, he decided to bear it as it didn't happen often and actually gave him good pointers as to what everyone should concentrate on for the time being.

Dan's skills in tennis left little to wish for by now. He seemed to defeat almost any opponent without difficulty; only some of the other regulars managed to put up any kind of resistance. Even then, Dan won all of his matches – except for a few Sengoku strongly suspected the boy threw intentionally. This was another peculiar thing about Dan – most players of his skill level were too stuck on their pride to ever risk being thought worse than they were. Dan apparently didn't mind if someone didn't realize the true extent of his skills, not if he considered the victory more important or beneficial to the other person. Modest, humble, and kind – Dan had not changed.

Sengoku had also not changed on some aspects, sadly. Sadly, as it meant that one day Sengoku found himself staring at the door of the club house, the whole team standing right behind him. They were all waiting to get inside the club house to change their clothes. Only, they couldn't.

The door was locked. And the keys were inside. And it was all Sengoku's fault.

"Honestly, buchou," sighed Muromachi. "It'd probably be better if I took care of locking up every time, given how absent-minded you are." For someone who apparently admired him, Muromachi sure could be irritating sometimes. Especially when he was right.

"Oh, shut up," Sengoku muttered, thinking about how very unlucky this was. "Focus on finding a way inside instead of complaining."

"Well, we did leave the window at the back open to get some fresh air in," the vice-captain said thoughtfully. "Maybe someone could fit in through it."

"Let's go look!" Sengoku said cheerfully. Already, his day was looking up again. This might actually not end up in a disaster!

They did go look, the whole team. Only, to their disappointment, they discovered the window to be very small.

"It's no use," sighed Yukagi, a third-year powerplayer. "Do you want me to break down the door, buchou?"

"There's no need to." It wasn't Sengoku who spoke. "I think it'll manage."

"Dan-kun?" Sengoku asked, blinking at the small boy who suddenly was standing at his side. True, Dan was smaller than anybody else in the club, but still… "Are you sure?"

Dan sighed. "Just help me get up there desu," he said. "I have to try at least desu. And if I don't get through it, we'll at least know no one can either desu!"

"But what if you get stuck?" asked Sengoku, genuinely worried. Not the least because he really didn't want to tell Akutsu that he'd let Dan get stuck on a window frame.

Dan grinned disarmingly. "I've gotten myself out of worse places desu," he said. "Now, a little assistance desu?"

One of the bigger members of the tennis club obediently allowed Dan to step on his hand, then lifted the smaller boy up to the window. Dan pushed it all the way open, then reached his arms through the window. Kicking at the wall, he crawled further, first his head, then his shoulders disappearing through the window. Sengoku let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding when, without any apparent difficulty, the rest of Dan followed, worming his way through the open window Sengoku could have never hoped to pass.

"I think I found the keys desu," they heard a cheerful shout a moment later. "I'm coming to open the door now!"

After hearing this, everyone headed to the front door of the clubhouse. At the exact moment they arrived there, the door flew open, a triumphant Dan standing in the doorway.

"Da-da-da-dan!" exclaimed Dan, grinning. "Door open for your convenience desu!"

"Thanks, Dan-kun," Sengoku sighed. "You really saved the day here."

"Comes with being so cute desu," Dan replied with a teasing grin. "Sometimes it's good to be small, you see."

"I definitely see that," the captain laughed. "Now, may I have the keys back?"

"These desu?" Dan eyed the keys in his hand in a speculating manner. "No, I think not desu," he then said.

"Huh?" Sengoku blinked. "What, are you going to keep them?"

"Indeed I am." Dan smiled brightly at him. "We wouldn't want to be locked out again, now would we?" He glanced at the rest of the team with a disarming smile. "I've been locking up the middle school club room for the last three years, so I do think I'm qualified enough for the job desu," he pointed out. "While Sengoku-buchou clearly isn't."

"Too true," sighed Muromachi. "I vote Dan-kun keeps the keys." There were only sounds of agreement at this, much to Sengoku's disappointment.

"What's this?" the redhead protested. "You don't trust your very own buchou?"

"No," replied Yakugi dryly. "At least, we don't trust you with locking up the club room."

"You know you're no good at it, Sengoku-buchou," Nitobe pointed out. "Isn't that why you gave the keys to Dan-kun on his first year of middle school?"

"Fine," sighed Sengoku. "But are you sure you want to do it, Dan-kun? It's a lot of responsibility. You'll always have to stay until everyone's left, too." The year before, taking turns with the previous captain, he had come to notice this was the part that irked him most about the arrangement – it seemed it was always his turn to lock up whenever he had a date or something. …Perhaps giving the keys to Dan wouldn't be such a bad idea…

"As I said, I'm used to it," Dan said cheerfully. "Besides, I'd rather be the last than get locked out desu!"

And thus, Sengoku agreed, chuckling a bit at the smile on the first-year's face. Dan looked so very happy over being trusted with such a simple duty!

Though he found nothing wrong with it at the time, he would later think back and realize the boy was actually too happy.

* * *

The kid was back. Like the two years of limited connection hadn't ever happened, he was right back at his usual routine of stalking and adoring and bothering Akutsu. He was exactly like Akutsu remembered him, too. Sure, he was taller and his hair was longer and his voice was a bit deeper – just a bit, though, he still would have passed for a girl easily – but somehow he still seemed the same. The same shine in his eyes, the same grin, the same enthusiastic "Akutsu-senpai!" following him around wherever he went.

He wasn't sure how to feel about all this. Had he actually admitted such a thing even to himself, he would have thought he'd missed the kid. Sure, he hadn't paid much thought to the brat lately, but now that there again were hasty footsteps by his side he found himself wondering exactly how he had lived without them. He could hardly remember it, even though it hadn't been even a week yet. Dan fucking Taichi sure had a way of worming into your way and staying there.

However, Akutsu couldn't help but notice some differences between the current brat and the old one. He was anything but an expert in reading people, but some changes were too obvious for even him to miss. Like the fact that Dan, previously practically always clad in t-shirts and shorts whatever the weather – somehow, he never fell ill – but now he preferred long sleeves and pants. Akutsu wasn't sure why, but it bothered him somewhat. It concealed the kid's almost sickly thinness, yes, and Akutsu no more had to wonder why he wasn't on his deathbed with all the colds and pneumonias he should have caught by every right, but it still was… wrong somehow.

Ah, well. He'd just have to get used to it. And he would probably do so soon, given how much the kid now hung around him. Of course, there was also the tennis practice, which he had made a habit of watching – just because there was a good place for smoking nearby, not for any other reason, fuck it all. It was only a matter of being used to it.

However, the other changes… he wasn't sure he could get used to them. Or even wanted to.

They weren't noticeable at first, no. Akutsu couldn't tell exactly when he had first realized there was something actually wrong, not just a change of clothing style. It was, he later reflected, most probably the one time he saw the brat before the brat saw him. Walking behind the kid, he'd cleared his throat, expecting Dan to spin around with a smile and a happy greeting as always. Instead, the kid had jumped, and as he turned around his expression had been one of fear, not enthusiasm. Sure, anybody could be startled, but Dan practically never was – and the flicker Akutsu saw on his face before the smile emerged was one of actual fear, too. He knew what fear looked like. That was the one emotion he wouldn't mistake.

What the fuck was wrong with the kid, anyway?

* * *

It would have been nice to think that things were back to the old for the most part, only with Sengoku as the captain now and with a few years added to their age. However much he may have wished so, though, it sadly seemed not to be true.

Slowly, Sengoku came to realize that while Dan appeared to be the same bouncy boy he had been two years ago, this was not the entire truth. Sometimes the bright smiles seemed almost false, however unlikely that was – Dan was always happy, after all; why would he have to fake a smile? However, Sengoku was an expert in reading people. He had to be, to know how people really felt about his flirting instead of relying on what they said aloud. And he knew that sometimes Dan would have really rather not smiled at all.

There were other things that were wrong, too. Sometimes his reaction to something would be strange or just uncharacteristic, sometimes he set his words in a way that made Sengoku feel weird for no clear reason. Of course, he might just be imagining things, might just remember wrong. He certainly would have preferred to think so.

However, he had to be sure. And there was only one way he could be sure – ask someone who had also known Dan in middle school.

Not just anyone would do, though, oh no. It had to be someone who knew the kid as well as he did. And really, in the current Yamabuki there was only one such person – even if the person himself would have probably denied it altogether.

Thus, one day after school, Sengoku found himself walking towards Akutsu's favourite smoking spot. He knew Dan had class duty so he had some time before there was any fear of interference. Finding the delinquent there, exactly like he had known he would, Sengoku sat down next to the older boy.

"You've been watching the tennis practice," he said. It was not a question.

Akutsu shrugged. "What the fuck is it to you if I have?" he growled then.

"To me? Quite a lot, actually. I'm the captain; it's my duty to keep my club members safe from creepy stalkers." Sengoku grinned at his sort-of-friend. "Are you a creepy stalker?"

"Fuck off, Sengoku," Akutsu growled. He glared at the redhead. Then, however, the glare turned into a gaze that was almost thoughtful. Questioning, too. "What the fuck's wrong with the brat?"

Sengoku didn't bother to ask just whom Akutsu was referring to – there was no point, really, not when it was so obvious. In fact, he was somewhat relieved he didn't have to bring up the subject himself, as he had not been sure how Akutsu would react to that. "I'm not sure," he said. "I wasn't even entirely sure whether there is anything wrong, really, but if you've noticed it too…" he trailed off, knowing the other knew what he meant.

"How the hell could I not notice? He's anything but himself. He never was that easily scared, before."

Sengoku had to admit this was true. Dan had never been one to get scared easily – rather, he was somewhat too fearless. Akutsu, for example, had never managed to frighten Dan despite the fact the delinquent had even most adults terrified of him. Sengoku sometimes suspected Dan was as lacking in the self-preservation instinct department as he was gifted in the tennis instinct one. But now… it seemed any sudden approach startled the boy. It wasn't normal. It wasn't Dan.

"His smiles are fake," Sengoku confided, startled at how the words sounded as he said them aloud. Until now he'd managed to somewhat deny them, convincing himself it was just his imagination, but now… The words hung heavy in the air between them, neither unable to deny or disprove the claim in any way. And, as he well knew, it bothered them both a great deal.

"It's as though someone fucking hurt him," Akutsu said, the cold gaze in his eyes hinting all too clearly what was the fate awaiting anyone who hurt Dan Taichi if Akutsu got his hands at them. "Like he's afraid anyone who touches him is going to hit him or something."

"Oh, gods," muttered Sengoku. "Who'd do something like that? I don't know anyone who'd be able to hurt Dan-kun."

"Sadly, you don't know fucking everyone in Tokyo, Sengoku," snorted Akutsu. "Even though you've probably bloody slept with half of them. It's not necessarily that, though. Who knows what's going on inside that brat's head." With a glare, Akutsu added, "But I'm going to find out."

"It's good to know you care, Akutsu," Sengoku said, grinning a bit.

"Che." Akutsu turned away. "I don't care. If I find out whatever's bugging the brat, though, he might actually stop hanging off me at every fucking opportunity."

Sengoku didn't comment further. They both knew which one of them was right, after all.

And then Dan was there, again, all smiles and sparkling eyes and bouncing up and down as he talked right Akutsu-senpai desu, and at first glance, he seemed to be as cheerful as anyone could ever be.

Sengoku took another glance, though, and what he saw – the wrong curve of lips, the flash of emptiness in the brown eyes – almost killed him.

He'd find out what was bothering Dan. And when he found out, he'd fix it, whatever it was.

Nothing and nobody was allowed to bother his kouhai like this.

* * *

Due to waking up well before his alarm went off, Sengoku was unusually early as he arrived on the tennis courts. Well, unusually for him, at least. Nobody else was on the courts yet as he headed towards the club room. Hopefully Dan had already come to open the door or he'd have to wait.

Thankfully, the door was not locked. Happily he pushed it open, walking inside. "Behold, everyone! Here comes your beloved buch- er." He didn't finish his sentence, too shocked to speak. His eyes were nailed at the sight in front of him.

It was Dan, yes. Young and pretty Dan. Dan with the big brown eyes and a dazzling smile.

Dan, shirtless as he was changing into his tennis uniform, with sizable bruises on his back.

"Dan-kun?" breathed Sengoku, his eyes wide with shock. "What – what's happened to you? That looks awful! Have you showed it to a nurse yet?"

"It's nothing!" the younger boy exclaimed, quickly pulling on his tennis club t-shirt. Already wearing his track pants, he then pulled on a jacket, quickly zipping it up to his chin. "Just a little accident desu."

"What kind of an accident causes traces like that?" Sengoku asked in disbelief. "You looked like you've been beaten or something!"

"I fell," replied Dan. "Down the stairs. It hurt a lot desu." He was very determinedly not looking at Sengoku.

Sengoku started to speak, then stopped. The tone of Dan's voice made it impossible for him to question any further, never mind the look in his eyes. It was as though the kid was begging him not to. While usually quite stubborn, Sengoku figured this was not the right time for such a discussion. Even if he tried, Dan probably wouldn't say a word more.

"…Don't fall again," he said quietly, dropping the subject for the moment even as he vowed inwardly to get to the bottom of this issue.

There was no way falling down the stairs would leave fingerprints on your shoulder, after all.


	4. The Way of the Bastard

Disclaimer: I own very little.

A/N: Rating going up for violence and thematic issues.

* * *

Nothing in Tennis

_"Love means nothing in tennis, but in life, it is everything."_

_- Anonymous_

Chapter 3

The Way of the Bastard 

Akutsu stared at Sengoku, not believing his ears. "You'd better be fucking kidding, Sengoku," he growled, rage raising its ugly head within him.

"Do you really think I'd fuck around with something like this?" asked Sengoku. "I saw it, Akutsu. You don't get that kind of bruises from falling down the stairs, no matter what he claims it was. One of them was obviously the result of someone grasping on his shoulder with the intention to hurt. Someone much bigger than him."

"Fuck, fuck, fuck." Akutsu frowned, running a hand through his wild hair, not even bothering to worry about spoiling the carefully gelled up style. The look in his eyes was positively murderous. Sengoku was very glad not to have it directed at him. "Somebody's going to die as soon as I catch them."

"First we'll have to find out who it is, though," Sengoku pointed out. "And I doubt Dan-kun is going to tell us anything, so it may be difficult."

"The fuck it is," growled the grey-haired boy. "We'll just keep an eye on the brat. Sooner or later we'll catch the bastard – that or he won't dare come anywhere near Taichi again."

"That sounds like a plan." Sengoku smiled faintly. "Fine. Let's become the kid's guardian angels, then – even though you're more of a devil."

"Oh, shut the hell up, Sengoku." There was no real venom behind Akutsu's words, though.

* * *

Though they never verbally agreed on it, Akutsu and Sengoku developed a habit of always walking Dan home. Sometimes it was the two of them, sometimes just one, but they made sure Dan never had to walk home from school alone. If whoever was bullying the kid was doing it on the way home, well, they weren't going to get another opportunity anytime soon.

Thus Akutsu found himself idly walking beside the kid one day, smoking a cigarette and occasionally grunting or grumbling something in response to the brat's never-ending chatter. This seemed to be enough to satisfy Dan, who carried on happily.

As they approached the kid's home, though, Dan gradually grew more quiet, his hasty steps slowing down until he almost came to a halt. "I should go on alone from here," he said. This was another peculiar thing. He never wanted the senpai-tachi to walk him all the way home. He never offered any explanation, but he seemed bothered with the idea of being seen with them, and eventually, Akutsu and Sengoku complied. Of course, they always trailed after him to make sure nobody bothered him on the short way to his house, but they never saw anyone suspicious. Apparently Dan simply didn't want his family to see them.

Strange, indeed. Akutsu himself had little experience – back in middle school, it had usually been Dan who followed him home and not the other way around – but Sengoku assured him that the couple of times he'd walked Dan home back then he'd always been cheerfully invited for a cup of tea. He'd never met Dan's father, but the boy's mother had seemed nice enough, as well as his little sister, the cute little thing that she was. So why the change of habits?

Now, he looked at Dan, who stood by his side, looking somewhat miserable even with his infinite smile. Making a split-second decision, Akutsu asked, "Do you want to go to the street courts?" Usually Dan never turned down the rare opportunity to play tennis with him. It was good practice, he always said, as well as a great way to spend time with the great Akutsu-senpai. Akutsu still couldn't understand the appeal of that particular sport, but he played along with it since it seemed so important to Dan.

"I have to go home desu," Dan said. However, Akutsu couldn't help but notice how reluctant he sounded about it.

"You don't sound like it," he grunted. "You sure you wouldn't rather play tennis?" Of course he would. Dan always wanted to play tennis.

The kid, however, bit his lip instead. "I – I'm sorry, Akutsu-senpai desu," he muttered. "I really have to go home or – or my father will get angry desu."

"And so what if your father gets angry?" questioned Akutsu. "It's not like being late one time will ruin your nice boy image for ever."

There was a flicker of some strange emotion in Dan's eyes, almost too fleeting for Akutsu to recognize. However, he did notice it, just like he noticed the fact the boy's hand crept to brush his arm. With a frown, Akutsu grasped on the arm, pulling the sleeve up. He was less surprised than he would have liked to be as he saw the bruise marring the slender arm.

"Fuck, Taichi," he said, a hint of anger in his voice that was not directed at the boy. "Did your father do this?"

Dan looked anywhere but at him. "No desu," he replied quietly.

Akutsu snorted. "And you're a fucking bad liar, too. Look, brat, I'm not an idiot. You've got to come up with a much more believable story if you think I'm going to buy it."

"But it's the truth," Dan said quietly, not sounding very convincing. Especially not to Akutsu, who – much though he might have liked to deny it – knew the younger boy much better than most people.

"Fuck it." Akutsu janked the sleeve back down. "Look, kid, you may think it's your fault, but it's not. The only one at fucking fault is the one hurting you. Your doing right or wrong in one thing or another doesn't matter, he'll always find a reason to hit you anyway. It's about the time you realize this." After all, Akutsu had been much younger when he'd come to the same conclusion about his own tormentor.

"But it's not like that!" Dan exclaimed, sounding somewhat panicky. The big brown eyes were brimming with tears. Understandable. "It's not my father! You – you don't understand desu!"

"Oh?" Akutsu raised his eyebrows. "So if I were to drag you to the bloody street courts no matter what the hell you say and you ended up coming home late, you could guarantee there wouldn't be any more fucking bruises on you tomorrow?"

Dan didn't answer, looking away again. This, of course, was enough of an answer in itself.

Akutsu sighed. This was going to be one Hell of a mess, indeed. "Is this why you don't want us to walk you all the way home?" he asked. "Has he fucking forbidden that, too?"

Dan nodded minutely. "Well, no," he then muttered. "But he – if he thought anyone else was too important to me, he –"

"He'd take it out on you. Old story." Akutsu snorted. "And you aren't doing anything about it?"

"I can't desu," Dan said miserably. Well, at least he wasn't trying to deny it anymore. "I'm too weak to stand up to him… and even if I could, there's my mother and sister desu. They're even weaker than me. And if I tried telling anyone, they wouldn't believe me anyway desu."

"And you know that how?" asked Akutsu, even though he knew that might very well be the case. Or, at least, Dan couldn't be get out of the bastard's hands before he managed to get revenge.

"I tried once desu," whispered Dan. "I told a teacher…" With a sniffle, he continued, "He told her I was just making up stories because I got into fights, that I always hang around with delinquents anyway, and she believed him desu. And then he hit me for it desu."

Now, Akutsu sighed in irritation. "Delinquents like me?" he guessed quietly. It was too convenient, really. Anybody would have thought that if a small kid like Dan ended up bruised, known for hanging around the less than safe guys like Akutsu, it was the fault of his so-called friends.

Dan's only answer was a quiet sniffle. Akutsu cursed under his breath. Well, damn it all to Hell, anyway. Dropping his cigarette onto the ground, he crushed it with his heel.

"Well, do whatever the hell you want," he growled. "If you aren't doing anything, I certainly can't fucking help you." Not yet, at least, though he'd definitely find a way. He turned around to go, only to find a hand tugging at his jacket. Instead of tearing himself away, though, he turned to look back at the kid

"Wait, Akutsu-senpai," Dan said. "Please… please don't tell anyone about it. If it gets back to him… I… desu…"

Akutsu rolled his eyes. Oh, he knew all too well what would happen if it got back to the bastard. His kind were all the same. "None of my damn business," he growled. Especially since Dan was refusing to let him get involved.

The hand let go, allowing him to go free. "Thank you, Akutsu-senpai," he heard a quiet whisper.

"Whatever," replied Akutsu with the most disinterested tone he could summon into his voice. "Try to stay out of the fucking way, though."

Like Hell he'd stay quiet about this, he thought. Only, it wasn't the authorities he was going to contact. They wouldn't have believed him anyway.

Who knew he'd one day be actually happy Sengoku had made sure Akutsu had his phone number?

* * *

"Oh my god." Sengoku's face was pale as a sheet as he stared at Akutsu. "You can't be serious."

"There are some things even I won't fucking joke about, Sengoku," Akutsu growled. "This is one of them. The kid as good as confessed his fucking father is beating him."

"We have to do something," muttered the redhead. "There has to be some way to help him, right? Right? It can't go on like this!"

"We can't do fucking anything," Akutsu announced gloomily. "The only evidence we have are the bruises, and if confronted, the kid will deny everything, that's for sure. If he did anything else, he might not even survive. And who do you think they're going to believe, a couple of high school kids or a well-respected family man? The bastard would probably say it's us who've been beating the kid, instead, and given my reputation, people would rather fucking believe him."

"But surely we can't just let things stay like they are?" Sengoku asked, sounding pained. "This is Dan-kun we're talking about! We can't let him continue suffering like this!"

"I'm afraid we don't have a fucking choice," Akutsu replied. "Look, Sengoku, I know how these bastards work. He's got everything covered." A fierce glare told Sengoku it was best not to question exactly how Akutsu knew this. "All we can do is keep an eye on the kid and see it doesn't get any worse. If anything worse actually happens, we have to get him out of there, but right now, any attempt at changing anything would land both us and the kid in one hell of a mess."

"I hate this," Sengoku muttered. "I hate feeling so fucking helpless!"

"Join the fucking club, Sengoku," Akutsu replied. "I'm going to find a way, though. I'm going to find a fucking way to deal with that bastard." His glare got even darker than usually, now directed at no one in particular, fierce enough that it would have made little children cry, had there been any around. "Even one person like that in the world is too much."

Sengoku still didn't question him, which was good. Apparently his luck was still with him. At the moment, Akutsu was feeling even more violent than usually, and would have welcomed any excuse to turn his something-of-a-friend into a target for his rage. As it was, though, he'd just have to go and pick a fight with someone.

Whoever ended up being that someone, well, they sure weren't in luck today.

* * *

"You burned it! You burned the fish! How can you be so stupid?"

Dan raised an arm to shield his head as the fist came down. He should have known, really. To make such a trivial mistake while cooking was just inviting trouble. Too bad his mother was out today; she surely wouldn't have made such a mistake. Then again, if what Akutsu-senpai had said about not needing a true reason was true, perhaps it was for the better that she was – certainly, Dan could bear his father's ire better than a woman. And even if he couldn't, he at least didn't want his mother to be hurt.

"I'm sorry desu," he muttered as he was struck again. "I won't do it again desu!"

"Damn right you won't," his father muttered. "How something as idiotic as you could have come from my seed is almost unbelievable! No, forget almost, it's indeed unbelievable!"

The hand rose to strike yet again. However, just then Dan saw a little ball of silver rushing past himself. Before he could even shout out to stop her, his dog had sunk her teeth into his father's leg.

"No, Hachiko!" Dan cried out, distressed. "Let go!" However, his dog seemed intent on defending her master this time. She'd let him down often enough. Master Taichi would not be hurt again.

His father cursed aloud. Then, without waiting to see whether the dog obeyed Dan's command, he grasped on the frying pan on the stove, the one that still held the burned fish. Then, despite Dan's horrified cry, he brought the pan down at the little dog's head, fast.

Hachiko didn't as much as yelp. Instead, she just let go, falling to the floor. A trickle of blood trailed down her soft fur. Even without a closer look Dan knew she wasn't going to get up.

"Why?" he whispered, falling to his knees and reaching for Hachiko as his father stepped back, glaring down at the dog's lifeless corpse. "It's not like she's even big enough to really hurt you…" Talking like this was, he knew, most unwise. However, right at the moment, he was too upset to even care properly.

"That's what happens to everyone who stands in my way." His father glared at him fiercely. "Watch and learn, Taichi. Standing up to me is no good, understood?"

"Understood," whispered Dan, wanting very badly to cradle the dog close to his chest but not daring to do so. It'd probably anger his father even more, and he couldn't afford that, not now. Who knew who would be the next one to die.

Poor Hachiko. She'd only wanted to protect Dan, loyal as she was. Only this time, that loyalty had been more than his father had been able to bear. Nobody questioned his authority, not even something as lowly as a stupid dog.

Stupid dog. Stupid kid. For a moment, Dan almost wished it were him that lay there in Hachiko's place. At least then he would no more have to watch his words and actions. Now, though, he was in exactly as much danger as before.

After fuming for another while, his father told him to clean the mess up, and Dan felt relieved. With any luck he would get all the evidence cleared before his mother returned with Meiko. He didn't want his sister to see this. Explaining why Hachiko had gone away would be difficult, but it would have been even more difficult to try to explain to her exactly why the contents of their dear dog's head had leaked onto the floor.

Tears blurred in his eyes as he knelt to clean away what had used to his best friend, and Dan had to bite his lip to keep himself from sobbing. It hadn't been Hachiko's fault, really. Dan himself should have behaved in such a way as to not have caused any scene at the first place. Yet Hachiko had been punished for his stupidity – it was because she'd stood up for Dan, tried to protect Dan, that she'd been hurt. If she'd stayed clear of the situation, she wouldn't have been hurt.

Dan petted the grey fur momentarily, and suddenly thought of something else that was just as wonderful a shade of silvery grey. Just as soft, just as thick, just as lovely. And belonging to something even more fierce than Hachiko.

He'd made a mistake, Dan reflected, by letting himself become attached to Akutsu. Even if his feelings would never be returned, Akutsu had apparently become used enough to him that he might actually even care if Dan got hurt. And this was bad, for while Akutsu-senpai was big and strong and great, even he could be hurt if Dan's father decided to get angry. And that was something Dan could never, ever allow.

He didn't want Akutsu-senpai to get hurt, definitely not because of him. And even more definitely not if he could somehow prevent it.

The easiest way, of course, was to make sure Akutsu-senpai never tried to stand up in his defence. And although the mere thought broke his heart, he knew what he had to do for it to manage.

He could only hope the end result would be worth the price.

* * *

It wasn't like he was waiting for the brat, oh no. Akutsu Jin would never have stooped to such ridiculous levels. He just happened to be here, leaning against the wall around the school right by the front gate. If it was around the time Dan usually left tennis practice, after everyone else had already gone home, changing after the rest of the team just before locking up the club room. Of course, Akutsu knew why he did this. Hiding and especially explaining away various bruises could be such a pain.

Finally, he heard the familiar footsteps. Completely forgetting the fact he was not supposed to be waiting for anyone, Akutsu pushed himself slightly off the wall, preparing himself for the usual overly cheerful greeting.

Only, there wasn't one.

For the first time perhaps ever since they had first met, Dan walked right past him without a glance at him. Akutsu was too shocked to even react. He just stood there for a moment, staring after the kid, his mouth hanging half open in a way that would have been rather comical if anyone had ever dared to think of the horrible Akutsu Jin in such terms.

Finally, he pushed himself off the wall, shaking his head. He shouldn't be shocked, really. He'd discovered the kid's secret, his darkest and most dangerous secret. Of course Dan would disassociate himself from Akutsu, not wanting to become any more vulnerable than he was. If someone couldn't help him, them knowing his secret was only a hindrance. Akutsu, if anyone, knew this all too well.

Well, good riddance, Akutsu told himself, eyes narrowing. He'd wanted to get rid of that annoyance forever. No matter what he said, the kid always kept coming back. Maybe he'd finally managed to do something right and achieved his goal. At last, the brat would not follow him everywhere anymore. At last, he was totally, completely free. And to Akutsu Jin, free was always good. Very good.

Then why did he feel so very empty right now?


	5. Confusion

Disclaimer: I own very little.

* * *

Nothing in Tennis

_"Love means nothing in tennis, but in life, it is everything."_

_- Anonymous_

Chapter 4  
Confusion

The feeling was, to say the least, very confusing.

For the first time ever, Sengoku felt guilty for being attracted to someone. He wasn't used to this. He usually accepted his attraction, no matter what the target – once he had figured it out, he'd even taken his bisexuality in a stride – but this felt just… wrong. Sure, he'd liked younger people before, but…

It wasn't really because Dan was younger, though. He might have reasoned it by thinking that Dan looked much younger than his years, but while true, it wasn't the real reason for his hesitation. At its simplest, he concluded, it was because Dan was his kouhai. And not just any kouhai, but the one he had always looked out for, like he were his brother. You weren't supposed to lust after such kouhai.

Yet here he was, standing at the side of the court, his eyes more intent on Dan's backside than his form. Damn. For such a small kid, Dan sure had some muscle, enough that it was visible even under his long pants and jacket. Of course, he would have looked even better in just a t-shirt and a pair of shorts…

An image rose to Sengoku's mind, a memory rather than a figment of his imagination, and he shuddered slightly. The memory of the dark bruises on the pale skin was definitely enough to chase away whatever excitement there might have been. Which was all good, anyway – no lusting after kouhai. Bad Sengoku.

Of course, he knew Dan was not a child anymore. Well, not as much of one as he had used to be, anyway. He was taller now, if still tiny, and stronger and faster and more mature. However, there were certain pieces of evidence of this fact Sengoku would probably never get used to.

Like the swear words.

Sure, Dan practically never swore. He was well-mannered and polite, after all, never saying one word out of place. However, once or twice Sengoku heard him mutter quietly, under his breath, "Fuck."

It was most likely due to Akutsu's influence, he knew. Nobody could hang around another person that much and not pick up a habit or two. And it wasn't like it was often, even – once or twice a week was hardly a habit, or even an occasional slip-up. It was still a rarity.

Which still didn't explain why his pants always began to feel somewhat uncomfortable as he heard that high, melodic voice lending its charm to such a coarse word.

Dan had grown up, that couldn't be denied. He hadn't perhaps gained much height since the beginning of middle school, but it was clear that his still slight weight was mostly muscle mass with no baby fat remaining. His face was slightly narrower, his features sharper, and he actually frowned sometimes at something else than Akutsu's stubbornness. It was clear to anyone who looked closely enough that while Dan could have easily passed for someone several years younger, he was definitely more than mature enough for his age.

Sengoku wasn't sure whether this was a good thing or a bad one.

He could still deal with it, though. At least in tennis practice, there were other people around. Most of the time they distracted him so that he couldn't concentrate on Dan. The time he did spend alone with the younger boy, like walking him home from school – as Dan was avoiding Akutsu for some reason, it was his sole duty now – wasn't so much he'd have gotten overcome by his attraction and actually made a move or something equally stupid.

Which was why he was almost ready to scream when Muromachi called him one day and told he'd fallen badly sick.

It would take a few days for him to recover, Muromachi told. And yes, he was well aware they were supposed to be holding a club tournament soon and decide on the line-ups, and that there was a lot of other work for the vice-captain to do, too, but he simply couldn't get out of the bed at the moment and even if he could have his mother would have never let him. So could Sengoku perhaps please find someone else to do it for the time being? Like Dan-kun. Dan-kun would surely be delighted to help, and he certainly was capable enough, what with his own experiences of being in charge of the team the year before. Actually, he'd call Dan-kun himself so he wouldn't cause Sengoku any more inconvenience.

It wasn't like Sengoku could refuse. If he had rejected the most sensible option for help Muromachi would have surely questioned the decision, and Sengoku wasn't quite ready to explain his little problem to his vice-captain. Muromachi certainly would have had a field day with it, and that was exactly what Sengoku didn't want.

So now he was stuck with Dan for the club duties. And while time spent with the younger boy was definitely not unpleasant, it also made him feel quite uncomfortable quite often.

Like now. Dan was working on the line-up for the tournament, occasionally asking Sengoku's opinion on this player or that. He was doing a good job – Sengoku hadn't even imagined he'd have such a clear picture of each player's skill level after being in the club for such a short time, but guess that was data player for you – but that wasn't what Sengoku was thinking about now. Even his responses tended to be rather unimaginative one-liners. All this was due to the majority of his brain functions being directed at processing the image of Dan sucking lightly at the end of his pen.

How naïve could someone be? No, how naïve did he have to be not to realize what kind of an effect such a sight would have on others?

"Sengoku-buchou?" Dan looked up at him, brown eyes wide as ever. "Is something wrong? You look strange desu."

"Nothing is wrong," Sengoku replied with a somewhat forced smile. Now look at that face, Sengoku Kiyosumi. It's the face of a child. One does not lust after children.

"I'm not so sure about that desu." Dan stood up, his jacket hanging on thin shoulders that, while still narrow, were already showing the signs of reaching towards a broader form. A pen rolled down to the floor as he accidentally pushed the desk, and he turned around, bending to pick it up. Sengoku swallowed. It was no good telling yourself someone was still a child when their behind looked like that even under track pants.

He should not be missing Dan's old tight little shorts so much.

"So." Dan placed the pen back on the desk, turning to look at Sengoku, his hands placed defiantly on his hips. "What's wrong, Sengoku-senpai? And don't try to tell me there isn't anything because I won't believe you desu."

Sengoku sought for words, trying to think of something that might be considered an acceptable response. Coming up short, he finally sighed, "I'm just… distracted."

"Distracted?" Dan blinked, cocking his head to the side. "By what?"

The twitch of his lips might have been a smirk or a somewhat sad smile, Sengoku wasn't sure which. "You, Dan-kun." And, before Dan could form a response, he stepped forward, leaning down to place a soft kiss on the younger boy's lips.

Dan's lips were soft, Sengoku noted, soft and warm and everything he had imagined them to be. Except for the unresponsive part. He could have written it off as simply shock, but knew better than that. Part of the reason he was known as a great flirt was his tendency to always tread on the side of caution. He was self-confident, true, but not self-delusional. And right now, he knew Dan was not returning his kiss.

The reality of his action setting in, Sengoku stepped back, his eyes widening as he realized just what he had done. Dan was sure to hate him now, he thought. He, too, would be avoided just like Akutsu. And then who would keep an eye on his precious, precious kouhai?

"I'm sorry," he said, backing away. Oh, the shame – the great flirt Sengoku Kiyosumi actually apologizing for a kiss. "I – I'm not sure what came over me just now." Like Hell he didn't. But 'I'm this close to jumping you' was something a good senpai should not say to their kouhai, however true it may have been.

Dan was looking at him strangely. Any time now, Sengoku knew, he would be told to go and leave the younger boy alone forever. Well, at least he had gotten a kiss – it was more than Akutsu had managed to get before being abandoned. Cold comfort, though.

"Please forget I did that," he murmured, turning away so as not to have to look at Dan. "I won't do it again, I promise." Anything to stay close to Dan. To keep him safe, if possible.

"What if I don't want to forget?" Dan's question made Sengoku twirl around faster than Muromachi served a ball. He stared at the kid in disbelief, taking in the slight flush on the little face.

"What do you mean?" he asked, hardly even daring to hope. Dan probably meant he'd rather just hate Sengoku. Yes, that must be it. And however much it hurt to think that, it still hurt less than getting his hopes up only to have them crushed again.

"I mean that I don't mind desu." The blush was even more obvious now, but the determined shine in the brown eyes was still stronger. "I – I like you, Sengoku-senpai desu." With a slightly lower voice, Dan added, "I really like you desu."

"You mean that?" Sengoku asked, not daring to believe his ears. Not even he could be this lucky, could he? "You seriously mean that?"

Dan nodded. "Why would I lie about something like that?" he asked seriously. "You are nice and kind and – and good-looking and –" The blush making his cheeks burn, Dan muttered, "I just don't know if you like me desu…"

"Didn't I just kiss you?" Sengoku blinked. Was that how little Dan thought of him? That he'd go around kissing just anyone? …Well, so that was pretty much true, but he didn't kiss people he was emotionally involved with if he didn't like them. Well. Not often, at least.

Dan sighed. "Sengoku-senpai, you're known even outside our school for your tendency to flirt with everything that's even remotely attractive, legal, and walks on two legs desu. Your track record isn't exactly good."

"Hey, hey, wait a minute now," Sengoku exclaimed. "Just because I flirt with everyone doesn't mean I'm not capable of actually being interested in someone for real! And, well, you are cute. And nice and polite and pretty and good in tennis and – everything."

"Girls are pretty." Dan frowned a bit. "And I'm not a girl."

"Of course you aren't," Sengoku said. "I should know the difference by now or be ashamed. I never said you were the girl type of pretty. You are a pretty boy, Dan – like manga characters, you know? It doesn't make you feminine. Especially not," he swallowed a bit, trying not to think too hard on the matter, "with those muscles of yours."

"What muscles?" The younger boy seemed almost amused. "You have muscles, Sengoku-buchou desu. Akutsu-senpai has muscles desu. I'm just a scrawny little boy who looks like he's scarcely hit puberty yet. Nobody who doesn't know me can guess my age right."

"Then they've never seen you on a tennis court." Sengoku hadn't seen many official matches of Dan's since the last year's Nationals, but he had seen the practice matches, and even those showed such a fire in the boy that he could very well imagine what he would be like in an official game. "Believe me, when you are playing, there's nothing childish about you."

Dan still looked somewhat unsure. Sengoku summoned up his most charming grin.

"Come on, Dan-kun. You like me, and I like you. I know you don't really trust me on this matter, and I think I understand why, but at least give me a chance, okay?" As Dan still seemed to hesitate, Sengoku added, "Come on. You know me. You know I wouldn't ever deliberately hurt you, kid."

To punctuate his words, he leant closer again to press another kiss on the soft lips.

This time, however slowly, Dan responded.

* * *

What was it with managers and data, anyway? Or perhaps data players and managing. Not that Sengoku had any statistics or anything – he was certainly not a data type, himself –, but those two did seem to coincide more often than he could allow for chance. Sure, there were different kinds of data, but still… Yamabuki sure was lucky to have one of those combinations.

Of course, to Dan, data was merely one part of his way of playing. However, Sengoku had already come to learn it did help sometimes, especially when it came to line-ups. And, more importantly, it kept Dan's mind off other things, like today. It was a very nice day, and Sengoku didn't want his boyfriend to be bothered by anything but possibly Seita-kun's unusually staggering serves today.

His boyfriend. That was a difficult thing to get used to, wasn't it? Especially for one such as him, flighty and whimsical as he was. However, for now, he'd actually managed to keep from flirting with anyone else. He'd given Dan-kun a promise, after all, and even if he wasn't quite used to the thought of monogamy, he'd not break his word.

Sometimes he wondered whether he'd gone mad. Then, however, like just now, he saw Dan sitting on a bench by the courts, writing in his notebook while he waited for the practice to start. He looked so absolutely adorable, didn't he, biting his lower lip like that as he was deep in thought!

Sengoku moved closer to have a look at whatever Dan was scribbling – unlike most data players Sengoku had come across, Dan was never very secretive about the odd bits of information he recorded. As he peered over the first-year's shoulder, though, he noticed something peculiar.

"Huh?" Sengoku blinked. "You're writing with your right hand?" The pen was indeed held in Dan's right hand, his handwriting somewhat messier than usual but still legible. Amazing. Or perhaps the truly amazing thing was that Dan's right-handed handwriting was better than Sengoku's. Ah, well. There was a reason he wasn't in the calligraphy club.

"Well, yeah desu." Dan glanced up at him. "My hand gets tired if I have to write too much at a time, and we just finished a huge essay in class, so I decided to switch hands to give my left one some rest before picking up a racquet."

"I never knew you could do that," Sengoku remarked. "I mean, sure, you play good tennis with your right hand, but writing is more precise, right?"

"It's a survival skill." Dan's lips twitched a bit, in which emotion, Sengoku wasn't sure. "Neither my father nor some of my old teachers approved much of the use of left hand, so I've had to learn desu. Left's my main hand, yes, but when pressed I can do most things with my right hand, too desu."

"Woah. So your father's one of those traditional guys, I guess." Sengoku grimaced, silently wondering whether Dan-san had ever used violence to reinforce his views in his son's mind. "Unlucky."

"Well, it's his opinion." Dan shrugged. "I think by now he thinks I'm mostly right-handed, and I've never thought to correct him desu. He's happier not knowing."

And, if what Akutsu had told was correct, happier father meant less bruised son. Damn, damn that bastard.

And damn Sengoku himself, for not being able to protect the kid. 


	6. Scores

Disclaimer: I own very little.

A/N: Do remember -- this story is 40.5-AU.

* * *

Nothing in Tennis

_"Love means nothing in tennis, but in life, it is everything."_

_- Anonymous_

Chapter 5  
Scores

"Would you all just calm down for a moment?" Sengoku glared half-heartedly at his buzzing regulars. "Honestly, sometimes I wish Banji was still here. At least he could make everyone shut up for a moment sometimes."

"It's only because you aren't authoritative enough." Nitobe never was one to waste nice words, was he? "Although you're definitely better than Minami-buchou."

Minami sighed. "You know, just because I'm not the captain anymore doesn't mean you can make fun of me," he muttered, ignored by everyone as usual. Poor Minami. It was bad enough that back in middle school, people had more often than not assumed Sengoku was the captain, but that even his own team talked like this…

"Banji only made us shut up by hitting everyone who talked with his latest porn magazine." Kita winked at Sengoku. "Why don't you use the same strategy?"

"Just for you, I'll bring my sister's phonebook-sized yaoi books along next time," Sengoku replied dryly. Most of the time he found it rather amusing that their regular team was practically the same as it had been in middle school, but at times like these he very much hoped he'd had some new people to work with. He liked the other guys, yes, and they were all great friends, but that didn't change the fact his team was quite insufferable sometimes.

"Oh, just admit you need the reference material. I'm sure Dan-kun would prefer honesty to hiding the truth when it comes to your inexperience." Okay, now they were making poor Dan blush. Playtime over, guys.

"The next one to say a single word not related to the line-up will automatically be reserve. And yes, I am indeed prepared to risk it with a makeshift doubles pairing if need be."

Thankfully, the regulars now fell (mostly) quiet. "Lucky! Now, for Singles One we'll have, like usual, Muromachi-kun." Sengoku smiled happily at his vice-captain, who simply nodded in return – it wasn't like this was a surprise to him, after all. "You'd better have recovered completely by now, Panda-chan. And as for Singles Two… Well, let's see Dan-kun win this one!"

"Huh?" Dan blinked. "Me desu? Singles Two?"

"Yes, you desu. I want to see how you do in an official match, and the best way to do that is to make you play one, right?"

"But – then why Singles Two?" Dan looked puzzled. "Wouldn't it make more sense to put me in Singles Three if you want to be sure to see me playing? And besides, I don't think I deserve that position desu."

"You deserve it because I say you deserve it." Sengoku winked. "Don't even try defying your captain! It won't be of any use anyway."

"But I don't want to be the reason someone else doesn't get the spot they deserve."

Sengoku rolled his eyes. "Taichiichi, the one getting pushed down a slot here is me, remember. I can take care of myself, I assure you." As his boyfriend still seemed about to protest, he added, "Do it for me, okay? Show everyone I wasn't wrong in making you a regular."

"…Sure desu." Now, that unsure tone just wouldn't do. They'd have to do some talking – preferably without the whole team listening in with great interest.

True to his plan, Sengoku cornered Dan after practice – not that that was anything unusual, really. This time, though, he had more reasons for it than the usual waiting-for-boyfriend-to-walk-home routine.

"So. Why were you so badly against your playing position?" Sengoku looked seriously at the younger boy. "You were a successful captain last year; surely you don't really think you're too bad for the position?"

"Well…" Dan bit his lip – an adorable trait, really, but also somewhat unsettling as it always signalled Dan was unhappy about something. "I guess I'm just nervous."

"You're nervous?" Sengoku echoed. "But why? You only lost once last year, right?"

"Right," replied Dan, still worrying his lip in the most adorable way possible. "However, last year, I was one of the third years, with the most experience and everything desu. Now, I'm a first year, and practically everyone is more experienced and stronger and whatnot than me."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll be fine," Sengoku said cheerfully. "I mean, you have your serves, right? And your data, too. It's only the first round of the city district tournament – there's nothing to fear, here."

"Sengoku-buchou? You're forgetting one teeny tiny fact here desu." Dan cocked his head to the side, looking at the older boy seriously. "This year's National champions are currently in a city district tournament, too – whatever tournament it may be desu. And, given the past success of various Tokyo teams in the last few years, chances are good they're in our district. I know all the worst teams are in the first tournament – but, really desu, so are the best teams, too. The question is, are the best ones us, or our next opponents?"

Sengoku raised his eyebrows. "That's a very good point," he said. "And as you should know, there's only one certain way to find out whether our opponents are the next champions."

"Indeed desu." Dan smiled hesitantly. "If we beat them, then they definitely aren't the best in Japan."

"Right." Sengoku threw an arm around the smaller boy's shoulders. "So cheer up and get yourself some certain data before your captain gets mad at you."

"It's not solely up to me, I fear," chuckled Dan. "But as long as I can get myself some information on my opponent, I can win at least my own match, I guess desu."

"No guessing." Sengoku tapped Dan's nose with his finger, then pressed a light kiss on it. "Just do it."

The shy little grin, Sengoku decided, was the most adorable thing ever. 

* * *

Doubles Two's loss was definitely not something Sengoku had expected to see, but it served its purpose. Not only would he get to give a severe lecture to the two – they hadn't been taking the match seriously enough – but he'd also see Dan play. As he had complete faith in the rest of his team, it was a win-win situation, really. There was no way Yamabuki would lose, not at this level. Dan's fears of having to face the next National champions had definitely been unfounded.

And indeed, Doubles One ended with a rather easy victory. Sengoku himself pounded his opponent to the ground in record time, grinning in satisfaction to himself as he seated himself to watch the next match. The rest of the club, who had hardly been paying attention aside from marvelling at both the easy victories and Kita and Nitobe's inexcusable loss, also turned more attentive now. Apparently he wasn't the only one looking forward to seeing Dan play.

"Do your best, Taichiichi." Sengoku winked at Dan. "Do you want a kiss for good luck?"

"Stop teasing the poor boy, Sengoku-buchou," sighed Muromachi. "Don't mind him, Dan-kun. Go and win the match, okay?"

"…Okay, Muromachi-fuku-buchou desu." With a tiny bow, Dan grasped his racquet and hurried to the court.

Dan's opponent towered easily over the little boy as they faced each other at the net. "Huh? Are you sure you're in the right tournament?" the opponent asked with a teasing smirk. "This is the high school division, you know."

"Oh, I know desu. I'm sorry, I really didn't want to play this position, but my captain insisted desu. I hope we can have an interesting match nevertheless desu!"

"Interesting, damn right," chuckled the older boy. "But not a very long one, I think."

"Oh?" Dan blinked. "Are you in a hurry to somewhere, perhaps? I shall do my best not to take my time, then desu."

"Oh, that's easy. Just lose."

To this, Dan didn't say anything. He simply smiled.

The match started with the opponent's serve – fortunately, Sengoku mused. Dan had plenty of time to get used to the feel of the ball, which meant he didn't have to sacrifice his service games to rallying before he could do his best serve. The little boy didn't seem to be teasing, this time, not like he sometimes did in practice; he was playing quite seriously instead. Well, aside from one teeny tiny detail.

"He's only using his right hand," Nitobe pointed out. "Show-off."

"Nah, it's because I told him to do so if only he can keep up with the opponent," Sengoku said. "Later on, he may need the advantage of playing with both hands, and while he does it well enough now, he can't only play with his left hand if he wants to keep the skill." The redhead smirked. "That's definitely one of the more useful skills Taichiichi picked up from trying to imitate Echizen Ryoma."

"He should just pick a category and stick to it," someone commented. "I mean, it's obvious he's not a tensai or an acrobat, but he has traits from both the data player and copycat categories, even if he prefers to be called a data player. Even his style is more of all-rounder than anything specific. Can't he make up his mind?"

"You're just jealous because he gathered your data in five minutes and then used your own play style to win you." There was general laugher within the club.

"There's no data to be gathered about the likes of you." Sengoku smirked. "Seems like a good thing he researched our opponent well, though." He nodded towards the court, where Dan was currently smiling apologetically at his opponent.

"I noticed hitting from that particular position makes your shots steer a bit to the left desu," Dan said happily. "So when I hit ball to that spot and forced you to return it that way, it's bound to be out. Please don't blame yourself for it desu."

"Oi, Dan-kun!" shouted Muromachi. "You don't have to be polite, just crush him so we can win!"

"Okay, Muromachi-fuku-buchou!" Dan said with a slight flush. Then he blinked as the referee counted the first game for him. "Huh? The game's already over?" Typical Dan, Sengoku thought. Getting so involved in the match he didn't even pay attention to the score. How was he supposed to use data like this?

"Damn it," muttered the older boy, moving to the receiving position, a fierce glare in his eyes. "I'm not going to lose to some little kid!" Locking eyes with Dan, he called out, "Okay, do your worst!"

This was when he was introduced to the Twist Serve. 

* * *

"That was a beautiful victory, Taichiichi," Sengoku said. "He didn't even know what hit him!"

"My money would be on a tennis ball," Kita muttered. "And after that the ground. Seriously, it's not like Dan-kun even hit it that hard."

"I didn't mean to do it desu!" Dan said, almost panicking. "I swear I had no idea it would hit him that hard desu! I hope he didn't hurt himself desu…"

"Oh, calm down, Dan-kun." Muromachi smirked. "It's his own fault for not stepping aside when he saw the ball was coming towards him. Besides, you would have clearly won regardless of whether you knocked him out or not."

"You didn't even have the chance to use your own serve." Minami looked thoughtful. "Although that might be better, actually, not revealing it yet…"

"Oi, Minami, no stepping on my turf!" Sengoku laughed, reaching out a hand to ruffle his friend's hair. "You gave up the captain position voluntarily, remember? No trying to wrestle it back from me!"

"Oh, believe me, I've no such intentions." Minami smiled in slight embarrassment. "Sometimes I just can't help but still think in terms of strategy, though…"

"Thinking strategy is okay. In fact, it's better than okay. It means you care about the team, after all. But, you know, talking like you're about to rearrange the line-ups or something?" Sengoku winked. "Not your job. That's for me and Panda-kun. Or Taichiichi, if there's any need for correcting our mistakes."

"It's not like that." Dan flushed slightly. "I just point out the bits of data you may have missed."

"Exactly." With another grin, Sengoku then glanced at his team, the regulars as well as the others. "Anyone still wanting to protest at Dan-kun being a regular?"

Unsurprisingly, nobody spoke up. 

* * *

"Of course," Sengoku said, walking peacefully next to Dan, "last year's finals were even more beautiful. Sure, you lost in the end, but it wasn't by much."

"By much enough," Dan muttered. "Really, you think too much of me, Sengoku-buchou."

"Nah. You just don't think enough of yourself, Taichiichi." Sengoku grinned at the younger boy. "Really, my dearest. That don't-flatter-me pout of yours is so cute that if we weren't in public, I'd take my time kissing it off your face."

As expected, Dan flushed. Sengoku laughed at him.

"You know," he said, "one of these days I'm taking you out. And no protests. Surely your parents haven't forbidden you from having a social life, yet?" Please, please don't let them have forbidden that.

"Well, no, they haven't." Sengoku was immensely relieved. "I'll just have to tell them beforehand, and think of good enough an excuse desu… Since I doubt 'going on a date with my captain' would sit well with my father desu."

"Just say it's extra practice." Sengoku casually fiddled with Dan's ponytail. It wasn't as though anybody was seeing, anyway. "We can even go to the street courts for a bit to satisfy your adorably serious conscience."

"Nice to know my honesty is appreciated." Ah, but Dan didn't sound entirely sincere now, did he? What was this, sarcasm? Sengoku hadn't even known the boy knew the meaning of the word. …Well, scratch that, but he hadn't known Dan actually made use of his knowledge. "Too bad you can't see a match like the finals again, though, what with Echizen-kun moving and all desu."

"No changing the subject, Taichiichi, even if it is indeed a pity. Not that it would happen anyway, since I know all too well you would never accept the Singles One slot as long as Panda-kun is around, and even if Echizen was still going to Seigaku, he wouldn't play any other position."

"Glad to hear you're not entirely lost when it comes to what you can persuade me into doing and what not desu." With a blink, as though only now realizing what he had said, Dan added, "And don't you dare take that in some perverted way or anything desu."

"Aww, Taichiichi," Sengoku laughed. "You were a lot cuter when you were still all naïve and innocent. Not to say you aren't cute anymore, or innocent either," he then hurried to add, "just that a few years ago most of the innuendo just flew over your head and that puzzled look on your face when you tried to figure out what the rest of us were laughing at was absolutely adorable."

"And you had fun seeing my reactions to the explanations, too, of course desu." Dan smirked. "Especially when you let Minami-buchou give them."

"Indeed." The memory made Sengoku laugh again. "I don't know which one of you was blushing more when we convinced him to tell you about birds and bees."

"Oh, shut up about that desu." The flush was on Dan's face again.

"Aww, cute, Taichiichi. Be glad we didn't ask him to tell you the all-boys version!"

"I got good enough a demonstration of that side of the issue later on desu." Dan sighed. "Some people should really learn that using the clubroom for private affairs is not allowed, especially not if the captain is going to drop in for a moment desu."

Sengoku's eyes widened. "What? Who? When? Are you serious?"

"Unfortunately yes desu." The younger boy's expression was rather pained. "I didn't see much, but enough to earn both culprits a few hundred laps desu. I think the punishment broke the record several times over, but… no. Just no desu."

"Awww, my poor Taichiichi," sighed Sengoku, settling an arm briefly over the younger boy's shoulders before taking it away again. "You should have told me so I would have beaten whoever was responsible for such a thing. There are some things even I wouldn't use the clubroom for." Then, he winked. "Except, you know, if I happen to be the captain."

"..Do you want that date or not, Sengoku-buchou?"


	7. Confrontations

Disclaimer: I own very little.

A/N: Do remember -- this story is 40.5-AU.

* * *

Nothing in Tennis

_"Love means nothing in tennis, but in life, it is everything."_

_- Anonymous_

Chapter 6  
Confrontations

Sengoku was confused. His horoscope for the day had promised troubles, big troubles, yet nothing bad had happened yet. Well, aside from the fact he was stuck doing paper work for the team with Muromachi – honestly, why did a tennis club need any kind of paper work? Wasn't it enough they played and won? – but even that wasn't entirely insufferable. Too bad Dan had a class right now and couldn't be helping them. 

"Sengoku-buchou?"

Sengoku raised his eyes to his vice-captain. "What is it, Panda-chan?"

Muromachi twitched a bit at the nickname but refrained from commenting, as usual. He already knew Sengoku was something of a hopeless case. "Why are you calling Dan-kun, Taichiichi? I mean, I know you call people by nicknames all the time, but what does it mean?"

"Oh, that?" Sengoku grinned. "It's very simple, really. You see, when I first told Dan-kun I like him, he wasn't sure I could be faithful, since I'm always flirting with everyone and such. So, I told him that if he just agreed to go out with me, he'd be the only one for me. So, Taichi-ichi, Taichiichi. See? Simple."

"Yeah, simple." Muromachi sighed. "And also incredibly sappy. I didn't know Dan-kun was into that kind of stuff."

"Huh?" Sengoku's eyes widened in confusion. "What do you mean? Taichiichi's about the sweetest guy ever, of course he likes sweet things!"

"How can you be so sure?" Muromachi leant against the desk they were both sitting at. "I mean, he liked Akutsu for ages, right? If he's attracted to such a guy, he doesn't seem to care much for endearments."

Sengoku shrugged. "Well, I just can't be rude like Akutsu," he said. "If I did, I wouldn't be me. And if Taichiichi doesn't like me for myself, well, then he could just as well not like me at all, right?"

"You've got some logic behind that, yes," Muromachi admitted. "…For once."

"You wound me, Panda-kun." The hurt look on Sengoku's face was completely fake, as they both well knew.

The hurt look on his face was entirely too real, though, as during lunch break he wandered towards the club house only to find himself grabbed and then thrown against the wall of the small building. Regaining his balance, Sengoku stared up at blazing golden eyes. "…Akutsu?"

"Sengoku." Akutsu's voice was furious, even more so than usually. Oh shit oh shit oh shit. "You fucking bastard."

"What have I done now?" Sengoku glared up at Akutsu even as his self-preservation instincts told him to run. He couldn't let the other boy scare him just because Akutsu was bigger and stronger. If Dan could face Akutsu, he could, too – even if Dan did have the added bonus of Akutsu never being able to actually hit him.

"Like fuck you don't know." Akutsu towered over him, threatening as ever. "You stole the kid from me, Sengoku."

"I can't steal something that's not anyone's." Sengoku glared back. He knew very well that if it came down to a fight, Akutsu would win, but at the moment, he didn't care. Just what did the older boy think he was doing? Like it was any of his business whom Dan chose to date!

"He was mine." It was more of a growl than proper speech now, reflecting Akutsu's anger. "And you fucking stole him from me. You turned him against me!"

"Oh, shut up!" Sengoku was fuming with anger, now, too. It was strange, really, how they were indeed friends yet could drive each other to rage so easily. "The kid loved you for years, any idiot could have seen that! And you always just brushed him off and didn't pay him proper attention. It's all your own fault if he got tired of always being ignored."

"I didn't ignore him," Akutsu spat. "I tolerated him more than anyone else."

"That's the operative word here, though, isn't it? Tolerated? You never gave him any indication you had feelings of any kind for him. Rather, it looked like you didn't find him even worth hitting!"

"I would never hit Taichi." It sounded like saying these words took Akutsu quite some work. He wasn't used to such making such admissions, after all. However, there was no sympathy to be received from Sengoku – not that Akutsu probably had expected any. "And he knows that."

"Maybe he does," Sengoku replied. "But does he know why? No. Because you never told him. You left him with the impression you couldn't care less whether he lived or died, you idiotic bastard!"

"That's none of your fucking business!" Akutsu's eyes blazed with rage.

"Indeed, it isn't." Blue eyes met golden ones in a contest of glares. "However, what is my business is that you had every opportunity to make Taichiichi yours, yet you never did so. Therefore, the kid is free prey for me. And I happen to like him too much to see him go to waste pining after you."

"Prey? Taichi's no fucking prey, you bastard. The kid has his own bloody will."

"That's right. And he decided to choose me over you. He'd have been yours for years already if you'd just done something about it in the beginning, so don't start complaining now when it's too late." With one last cold glance, Sengoku stepped out from between the club house's wall and the bigger boy. "Besides, it's not like he wants to see you anymore, anyway, is it?"

He could hear Akutsu cursing as he darted towards the corner.

Getting to the other side of the clubhouse, Sengoku sighed. It wasn't great as far as hiding places went, being only on the other side of the very small building, but then again, if Akutsu had truly wanted to chase him, he'd have had no chance regardless of where he ran to. Whatever secret talent Akutsu possessed, it definitely affected his running skills as well, and when he truly wanted to find something – or somebody – he was like a predator stalking his prey. There was simply no escape from him.

Luckily – and wasn't he always so lucky? – Sengoku soon heard Akutsu's muttered curses fading away. This would have been a huge relief, had he not suddenly spotted another sound. Curious, he headed towards the end of the clubhouse, the side of the building he was yet to see.

To his great shock Sengoku found a lithe form there, leaning against the wall, tears streaking the pale face.

Dan had overheard, most likely the whole conversation. Oh, shit. Shit, shit, shit. This truly wasn't his day, was it? He should have heeded the horoscope and simply stayed in bed all day.

"…Taichiichi?" he asked carefully. "Hey kid, you okay?"

"Do I look like I'm okay?" snapped Dan, trying in vain to wipe his tears away. "Honestly desu. You call Akutsu-senpai an idiot but are one of the worst kind, yourself."

Ouch. Sometimes Sengoku forgot that under the polite, proper façade there was a guy who didn't hesitate even to yell at Akutsu – a guy you did not want to argue with, even if the argument was rather difficult to get into. However, as the next moment he saw Dan sobbing, he again remembered that this same unyielding boy was also one who occasionally needed comfort – sometimes when he least would admit it. Walking closer, he pulled Dan into his arms, holding him quietly as the younger boy cried into his shirt. The poor garment was going to be soaked, but at the moment, he could care less.

"…I guess this is goodbye, then." Well. It had lasted longer than his average relationships. Not that this was saying much, considering his usual dating habits.

Then why did it hurt so much?

"Huh?" Dan pushed away a bit to raise his gaze to Sengoku, looking puzzled. "What – what do you mean, Sengoku-senpai?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Sengoku shrugged. "Now that you know Akutsu likes you, you'll want to go back to him, right? And don't even think of denying it." He settled a finger over Dan's lips to keep the younger boy from finishing the half-voiced words. "I know you still like him. I've seen the way you look at him."

For a long, heartbreaking while, Dan was quiet, his eyes downcast. The small hands were still holding onto Sengoku's shirt.

Finally, though, the chocolate gaze was again raised to meet Sengoku's eyes. "But I like you, too, Sengoku-senpai desu." Dan's voice was quiet but determined. Stubborn kid, as usual. "I didn't lie, you know. And I am with you now desu. You were right, Akutsu-senpai had his chance. Even if – even if he does like me – if he never said anything about it…" A choked sob interrupted Dan for a second before he was able to finish. "Then, he obviously never liked me enough desu."

"So…" Sengoku didn't actually say anything, afraid he was wrong. Of course, it seemed rather obvious where Dan was headed now, but he didn't want to take any risks. This subject was too precious for him for him to trust his luck at the moment.

"I'm not leaving you desu." Quiet yet determined, still. So very Dan. His Dan. "If you still want me, that is."

"Taichiichi, Taichiichi dear," Sengoku said, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy and holding him close, "do you really think I would have risked becoming the target of Akutsu's wrath just for fun?" The broken chuckle that resonated against his chest was enough of an answer.

For a while, Sengoku just stood, enjoying the feeling of Dan in his arms. It was strange, he decided, how none of his former girlfriends or boyfriends had ever made him feel like this. They'd been fun to be with, sure, and all nice in their own way – why else would he have dated them? – but Dan was something else entirely. Something… important.

"Say, Dan-kun," he voiced his next thought, "would you like to come over to my house some day?"

* * *

For some reason, Sengoku felt somewhat apprehensive about taking Dan to his home. Of course, it wasn't like the younger boy had never been there or met his family before, but it just felt… different, now. After all, this was the very first time Dan was coming over as his boyfriend. Sengoku didn't think of it as introducing him to his parents – in any case, such introductions had been made years ago – but still, it felt somewhat strange. 

Of course, it wasn't like anybody knew of the change. Sengoku hadn't told his family. It wasn't that he feared disapproval – after all, he had always been open about his dates, be they girls or boys – but rather that he was afraid they'd remember his dating history too well. He didn't want them to think of Dan as the two-week relationship number seventy-eight, as they were bound to do if he introduced the kouhai as his boyfriend. He wasn't sure why he was so particular about this, but…

Well. As he took Dan to his house, the introduction part was easily solved. "You remember Dan-kun, right? We were team mates back in middle school and are now again." And of course they remembered – Dan wasn't exactly easy to forget, after all. It was rare to run into such a polite and pretty child, as Sengoku's parents made a point of mentioning. Obviously they wished he would have rubbed off on their son a bit.

The visit went well, though. Dan and Sengoku went into his room, did their homework, and then made out – although the last part only after Sengoku had made sure the door was locked. His sister was awful about gossip, and he'd had her walk in on some good making out one time too many. Afterwards Dan was invited for dinner, a request he could hardly decline, being polite as he was. Despite the protests of Sengoku's mother, he even helped set the table.

Sengoku couldn't help but notice that when setting the table, Dan used his right hand more. Naturally. After all, this was one thing he usually never did other than at home, and there, he'd have to literally watch his hands.

He was fairly sure he'd never even met Dan's father, but he found he hated the man more and more every day nevertheless.

At last, though, Dan had to leave. Sengoku offered to walk him back to his house – or at least as far as he would allow – but Dan declined, saying he'd already caused too much trouble to his captain. Therefore, they simply said goodbye at the door, followed by a fast goodnight kiss once they were sure no one could see them.

Looking after Dan's retreating back, Sengoku had to wonder. He'd dated so many people before; why had no one else ever managed to affect him so deeply with a simple, chaste kiss?

Regardless, he was on a very good mood as he returned inside, practically skipping on his way back to his room. This had been a good day after all.

"Dan-chan sure is nice," a voice suddenly said right behind him. "Do bring him over more often, won't you?"

Sengoku smiled as he turned around to face his mother. Oh, he definitely planned to do so. "I promise I will, Mum."

"Well, I'm glad." His mother smiled at him. "I was starting to worry you'd never settle for just one person."

Sengoku blinked. "What do you mean, Mum?" he asked, confused.

"Why, isn't it obvious?" Her smile was even warmer now. "Dan-chan and you are dating now, aren't you?"

For just a second, Sengoku was stunned speechless. Finally, he managed to speak. "How… how did you know?"

A pair of twinkling blue eyes met his own. "Just a lucky guess, my dear." Ah, yes. The luck did run in the family. But to think it worked this way, too… "You're serious, aren't you? At least more so than usually. You've never looked at anyone else like that, before."

"Well…" Sengoku sighed. There was truly nothing you could hide from a mother, was there? "I don't know how serious I am, but I do like him. A lot. And, well… it's a bit different from my usual dates. You know? I can't put a finger on it, but, well. Usually I don't mind much when I break up with someone, but now… I just don't want to lose him."

"And that, my dear, is what love is all about." She ruffled his hair, gaining a sound of annoyance from her son as his hands flew up to protect his hair. Seriously. He was taller than her now, couldn't she just forget that stupid habit? "Seriously, though, do bring him over more often. For dinner, that is. The poor kid needs more flesh on him. You aren't overexerting him at the practice or anything, are you? You'd better –"

Listening as his mother went on and on with her well-meaning rant, Sengoku gave up all hopes of being let out of her clutches anytime soon.


	8. Protectiveness

Disclaimer: I own very little.

A/N: Isn't it wonderful when the site won't let you upload anything at times?

* * *

Nothing in Tennis

_"Love means nothing in tennis, but in life, it is everything."_

_- Anonymous_

Chapter 7  
Protectiveness

Smoking in bed was, as Akutsu well knew, something one should not do. There was obvious danger involved, if he happened to fall asleep and the cigarette lit his bed. However, for one thing, Akutsu had never paid much thought to what was the wisest or even least stupid way of action, and for another, he was fairly sure he wouldn't fall asleep right now. There was simply too much on his mind for him to relax that much. 

Watching the tendrils of cigarette smoke reaching up towards the ceiling of his room, Akutsu thought of everything Sengoku had said. The redhead was right, he supposed. Not even he was stupid enough not to have seen the boy's obvious adoration for him. Perhaps he should have acted earlier if he wanted to have Dan. He could really blame only himself.

Then again, he had never been in the habit of doing so.

Now, that was not true. There had been a time when he'd held himself responsible for several things, both ones that were his fault and ones that weren't. However, he'd long since outgrown that. He knew all too well just when he was responsible for something and when he wasn't, and even when the case was the former, it was usually all too easy to blame others nevertheless. So, obviously, it wasn't his fault that Dan hadn't realized not strangling the brat when he was particularly annoying was as good as an "I love you" when coming from Akutsu.

Blaming yourself meant you were also responsible for creating a solution. And Akutsu very much doubted his solutions to problems would have gained social acceptance, given that they tended to be rather violent most of the time. Hell, not even most of the time. He couldn't recall when he'd last solved a problem without violence or threats thereof.

The issue of Dan, after all, was very much unsolved, yet.

Even if he couldn't have Dan to himself, though, he wanted to protect the kid. This was completely uncharacteristic of him; usually he wouldn't have bothered himself with the problems of others if they didn't concern him directly. And, as not only had Dan picked Sengoku over him but was actually refusing to have any interaction with him, not even the simple "Hello" he gave to everyone he knew even remotely, this clearly did not concern Akutsu in any way.

Except that the thought of Dan suffering at the hands of such a bastard rubbed him in every wrong way possible.

He didn't know what was so special about the brat, really. He was just another little kid who played tennis too well and thought far too much of the stupid sport. At least he didn't have the big mouth of Echizen's, but that wasn't much of a plus. Before, Akutsu had been able to explain away his interest for the kid with the excuse of Dan not being afraid of him – this was, after all, a very rare occurrence. However, he'd seen Dan being afraid of him, now. And even if it was only because the bastard had stripped him of some of his naïve trust, it still destroyed that excuse. The other excuse, that of Dan always hanging around him, was void now, too. There was no way he should be interested in Dan or his well-being.

If he'd asked Kawamura, Akutsu was sure, the other boy would have told him some crap about love and caring and whatnot. Which was exactly why he wasn't asking Kawamura. The idiot already thought he was softer than he actually was. See if he was ever going to save the idiot from cracking his skull open on the stands again.

Whatever the reasons, the fact remained that he wanted to protect Dan. And while this may have been quite an admirable goal otherwise, Akutsu was far too aware that his usual methods of protection would hardly be acceptable in Dan's mind.

After all, however much the boy may have hated his father right now, Akutsu suspected he would still have been upset to see the bastard killed.

It was somewhat twisted, wasn't it, that Akutsu only knew the way of violence as far as it came to protection. And that the last time he had ever bothered to protect anyone but himself he had ended up taking the most violent way possible.

It had been quiet that night, he remembered. Quiet, and cold, too. The floor had been freezing under his tiny feet as he padded over to where he heard the man's snoring.

His mother was not in the bed, he knew that much. She'd fallen down in kitchen and not gotten up. He wasn't sure whether she would get up; much though he hated to admit it, he was too scared to go and check. And if she never got up, he'd be left alone with the man.

If he were alone with the man, little Jin knew, he'd eventually fall and not get up, too. The man was like that. Nothing could last for long around him.

He stood by the bed, now, clad only in his pyjamas that only barely concealed his bruises, looking at the man as he slept. The snoring was loud, far too loud, like he was trying to fill the whole little apartment with his presence even when he wasn't awake. Was he truly that desperate to control all of their lives?

His mother didn't snore. She was too nice for that. The man snored and sometimes woke his mother up, but his mother never dared to say a thing because she knew he would get mad at her. Jin thought she was better off quiet; the man didn't need any more reasons to be angry.

Mostly it was him, he knew. He always did something wrong and made the man angry. One day he'd make the man too angry and that'd be the end for him.

Unless the end came for the man, first.

Padding over the freezing floor to the other side of the bed, little Jin then climbed up to the Western-style bed, quietly crawling over the sheets. The sheets on this side of the bed smelled of his mother, and for a moment he was tempted to curl up in them and forget it all. But the man would eventually get up, and he wasn't sure if his mother would, and he really didn't have that much time. He had to act now.

It was a bad thing to use his mother's pillow for something like this, Jin knew, but it wasn't like he had any others. The only other pillow in sight was under the man's head and he couldn't get it from there without risking waking him up. Therefore, it was his mother's pillow that he clutched in his hands, creeping slowly towards the man.

The man slept like a log, thankfully, and didn't wake even as Jin reached forward to place the pillow over his face. Leaning over the pillow, Jin used his whole weight to hold the pillow over the man's face. The snores faded behind the pillow, until they stopped altogether. Jin didn't dare let go yet, though. He had to be sure it would be the man who didn't wake up again and not him.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he dared to let go of the pillow. Taking it off the man's face, he listened for a moment. There were no breaths, no snores. There was nothing.

He placed the pillow on the bed beside him. Still nothing.

More daring now, Jin grasped on the man's arm and started pulling. Nobody would believe a pillow had just flown onto his face, that much even little Jin knew. Getting more and more bold as the man still showed no signs of waking up, he strained himself until he managed to roll the man over. It wasn't easy, not with the man being so heavy, but Jin was strong for his age and had plenty of adrenaline to make up for what strength he may have lacked. Finally, the man was lying on his stomach with his face pressed into the pillow.

Good. Very good.

Slipping down to the floor, Jin shivered as the cold again crept into the soles of his little feet. Quietly getting around the bed again, he headed for the kitchen to get the phone.

Despite his age, Jin knew the emergency number by heart. He'd had to use it one time too many. This time, however, he was almost glad to dial it.

"Hello?" he said quietly as he heard someone on the other end of the line. "Please help me, my mum and dad won't wake up no matter what I do…"

His father had gone away, he had told everyone afterwards, and if he'd been somewhat glad to announce this he had hid it well. Nobody ever asked him to elaborate, or if they did he never complied, and eventually everyone just accepted this as the truth. They probably concluded his father had run away, which was just as well; that certainly wasn't any worse than some of the rumours already circulating about their family. The family that now, thankfully, only consisted of himself and his mother.

He suspected his mother knew the truth, though, even as the official statement was the man had been drunk and unfortunate enough to smother himself on his pillow in his sleep. What else could they have concluded, really, when the only other people in the apartment except for the man were a little kid and a woman he had beaten unconscious before going to bed? His mother looked at him, though, and there was sadness in her eyes that couldn't be there because of the man.

Jin didn't understand it, really. Wasn't it better that the man went away than the two of them? The man had never done anyone any good. He knew it wasn't right to do so, not in theory, but he was sure he hadn't done anything wrong in ending the man's life. The bastard had been uncaring, cold, abusive, everything most people despised. Everything Jin himself had grown up to be.

Despite their similarities, Jin did not feel regret. He was fairly certain that even though he had taken after his father, more so than he would have liked to, he was still nowhere as bad as the bastard. And to this day, as he lay in his bed and watched the smoke curling up towards the ceiling, he couldn't recall ever feeling a single bit of remorse for that deed.

Perhaps it was the bastard's genes that had made him as violent as he was, he mused. That or the example he'd got as a kid – or perhaps both. It certainly appealed to his somewhat warped sense of justice to think that the man had died because he had caused his son to become a person who could kill someone without an ounce of regret. Sure, he had never killed anyone else, or even seriously considered it, but he knew he was certainly capable of such a thing and had been ever since he was a child.

Now, thinking of Dan's frightened eyes and bruises on the pale skin, he found himself idly wondering whether he'd be willing to take the risk of getting caught doing so again.

There was no one else he would have done it for, certainly. While he was all too fond of senseless violence, murder was something that was a lot harder to get out of without serious repercussions. He was too selfish to get into that much trouble for anyone but himself. Or anyone but himself or Dan, as the case seemed to be. Peculiar, indeed.

Biting down on his cigarette, Akutsu raised his hands before his eyes, looking at them. They weren't pretty hands, by any means, pale and large and calloused. They'd shed blood more times than he could count – and yes, they had killed. His hands were just as impure as the rest of him, heart and soul, if he did indeed possess such things.

To think of using such hands to help something so very pure was practically blasphemy. Yet, he couldn't help but yearn to do so.

Clearly, he was damned.


	9. First Contact

Disclaimer: I own very little.

A/N: 40.5 AU, if you would kindly remember. )

* * *

Nothing in Tennis

_"Love means nothing in tennis, but in life, it is everything."_

_- Anonymous_

Chapter 8  
First Contact

"Ahh, Seigaku," Sengoku sighed happily as the team assembled at the tournament site. "Everyone's least favourite opponent. What do you think, Taichiichi? Are we going to have a repeat of last year's district finals?"

"Depends on which school level district finals you mean." Dan peered into his notebook, scanning over figures that made little sense to anyone else. "High school division, Yamabuki losing? Most likely desu. They've only gotten better lately, and the data I gathered in their latest match indicates that our usual strategies may not be as successful as desired against them desu. Middle school division, Yamabuki winning? I'm afraid not, not at our current level desu. Their current high school team's a lot stronger than their last year's middle school team."

"You would know that, wouldn't you?" Sengoku smirked. "After all, you were the captain who beat them."

"And then got beaten in turn at the Nationals," Dan reminded him dryly. "Don't get your hopes up – but not your spirits down, either, desu." Looking at his team mates with a grin, Dan said, "We're going to work our hardest to win them this year, right?"

"Oh, no," Nitobe muttered. "We'll lose on purpose just so they'll have mercy on us the next time we meet. Of course we're going to try our hardest."

"We'll be winning the thing before you even get the chance to play, Dan-kun." There were a few careful but no less determined nods accompanying Kita's announcement.

"We'll see about that desu." Dan glanced at his notebook for the last time before closing it with a snap.

"Indeed we will." Sengoku grinned. "Okay, everyone – today, let's do our best to prove Taichiichi's data wrong, ne?"

As the others started chattering about other things, Sengoku inched closer to his boyfriend. "So, how sure are you about your take on Seigaku's line-up?" he asked.

"As sure as I can be before they hand us a copy desu." Dan smiled. "They've absolutely no reason to change their standard line-up against us. Makeshift doubles pairings especially would make simply no sense, not when Golden Pair is closer to being professional level than just national desu."

"Oh?" Sengoku smirked a bit. "So… Would you be willing to make a little bet?"

"Bet with you? On their line-up?" Dan raised his eyebrows. "What do you know that I don't know?"

"Nothing, honest," Sengoku laughed. "I just think it's amusing how you're so confident with your data. So, what about a bet? You win if their line-up is just like you said."

Dan narrowed his eyes. "And if it isn't?"

"Easy." The red-haired captain winked. "You let me kiss you in public."

"Huh?" Dan flushed a little. Grinning, Sengoku wiped aside a strand of blue hair that had escaped from the younger boy's ponytail.

"You heard me." Ah, but it was a surprise, wasn't it? Dan usually didn't mind when Sengoku called him pet names or stayed close to him in public, but he was still somewhat uncomfortable with actual displays of affection. Sengoku figured it was because of the very traditional sense of propriety he'd been taught at home, as Dan was hardly shy or anything – and he wasn't even young enough to get away with hanging off someone's arm anymore, either. A pity. It would have been so cute if he had clutched onto people like he'd used to a few years ago. Sengoku himself, though, was a natural flirt, and, well…

"Okay desu." If Sengoku's suggestion had shocked Dan, the answer in turn shocked Sengoku. He hadn't really expected Dan to agree, not so easily at least. Apparently noticing his shock, Dan shrugged. "I am confident in my data desu."

"Lucky." Sengoku grinned. "So, either I get the line-up we prepared for, or I get a kiss. Either way, I win."

Dan huffed. "Nice to see just how highly you value your team's success desu." He was, however, smiling a bit, so Sengoku knew he didn't really mind.

It turned out that Sengoku, much to his disappointment – and, at the same time, relief – lost their little bet. Receiving the line-up from Seigaku's captain, he saw exactly the order they had expected. Doubles Two, Kaidou-Momoshiro pair, Doubles One, Kikumaru-Oishi pair. Singles One, Fuji, Singles Two, Inui, Singles Three, Tachibana. He had to wonder what the line-up would have looked like if either Echizen or Tezuka had been still playing for the school – or, perhaps, if Fudoumine had had its own high school. Regardless, this was the line-up they had expected to face.

"Lucky," muttered Sengoku quietly.

Doubles Two went well enough, with a difficult victory to Yamabuki – which, like Sengoku cheerfully said to his victorious doubles pair, was still much better than an easy loss. He wasn't exactly as cheerful as the Jimmies went up to meet their opponents, though. Yamabuki's Doubles One had gotten much better during the last three years, yes, but so had the Golden Pair. They'd only been beaten twice the year before, and given that they played pretty much on every round Seigaku played, this didn't leave much hope to their opponents. The best high school doubles team in Japan wasn't much of a stretch as far as titles went.

And, indeed, soon enough the match turned against the Jimmies. Despite all their skills and tricks, they were unable to turn the flow of the game to their advantage, completely falling to the Golden Pair's nigh perfect combination.

Watching the match, Sengoku had no more suspicions about who would walk from the court victorious. "If not for the fact our team is in trouble, I'd say this is beautiful." He smirked. "In fact, I think I'll say it anyway. It's not every day that you see such great doubles."

"Indeed." Dan nodded from his side. "As I said before, the Golden Pair is closer to professional level than simple high school tennis. They're not even a national level combination anymore, they're better than that desu."

"Well, at least there's no shame in losing, then." Sengoku stretched a bit. "Hmm, guess I should go and warm up. I don't think it will be much longer until my match."

* * *

Doubles One indeed didn't last much longer. Singles Three, on the other hand, lasted for a while – but still ended in Sengoku's own defeat. Muttering a few choice curses under his breath, he walked back towards his assembled team, sweaty, tired, and humiliated.

"That was a good game, Sengoku-buchou." And here was Dan, offering him a towel and a soothing smile, Dan who was already carrying his racquet. Sadly Sengoku didn't have much time to enjoy the comfort of his boyfriend, as the participants of the next match were ordered to the court.

It was somewhat a comical sight, the Singles Two, with the ridiculously tall Inui standing opposite to the pitifully small Dan. Dan had to look almost directly upwards to look his opponent in the eye – or as close as he could, anyway, what with Inui still wearing the same kind of glasses as in middle school.

"I trust you have sufficient data on me, Inui-san?" Dan smiled politely at the older boy.

"Dan Taichi, Yamabuki High School , first year," replied the other. "Primarily a data player, using his data to copy other people's moves, adapting them to the current circumstances. Most notable own move the Puppy Dog Serve, utilizing spin to manipulate the opponent's instincts." He smirked. "You'll soon notice I don't rely on my instincts alone, though."

"I know that much desu," Dan said cheerfully. "I'm interested in finding out whether you can return my serve desu. The ones who can are few and far between, after all."

"I'd be honoured to be one of them." The glint of Inui's glasses was, the Seigaku players noticed, even more sinister than usually.

So was, the Yamabuki team noted, the smile on Dan's lips.

"Aww, looks like Taichiichi has fun." Sengoku smiled as he watched the match beginning. "He's been so excited about this match!"

"Don't we know it," murmured Kita. They did, indeed, know. Ever since they'd realized Seigaku was their most likely opponent in the finals, Dan had constantly been reading this entry or that in his notebooks, mulling over strategy, demanding Muromachi – who had the fastest serve in Yamabuki – to serve again and again and again so he could practise returning fast serves. Even those who hadn't witnessed his nervous breakdown the day before over his inability to calculate chances accurately enough knew just how worked up he'd gotten over this match.

It was a good thing they'd been right about Seigaku's line-up; who knew how Dan would have reacted if he hadn't gotten his match with the ultimate data player after all.

"Why is he so excited over it, anyway?" asked Minami, sounding lightly confused. "I'd understand if he were purely a data player, but Dan-kun uses his data more to copy moves than to try to calculate the opponent's next move."

"That might be exactly it," Nitobe mused. "What if he wants to gather enough data to mimic data playing?" At their disbelieving gazes, he shrugged. "I don't know how it'd work, either…"

Sengoku grinned. "Really, it could be because he wants to see which way to use the data is better. Or just because Inui is the only Seigaku regular he hasn't mimicked yet and he wants more data."

"Knowing Dan-kun, it's probably the latter," Muromachi commented. "It wouldn't be like him to try and claim to be the best."

"Only Seigaku regular he hasn't mimicked?" echoed Kita. "In that case there are quite a few moves he hasn't shown us all."

"Oh, there are." Sengoku grinned again. "After all, the tournaments are still all basic stuff. It wouldn't do to use all of his moves yet, now would it?"

"Well, I've got the feeling we're going to see some of them soon," muttered Muromachi. "Or if we aren't, well, we can just as well call this a loss right away."

"Hush, you, before you jinx it." Sengoku batted playfully his fuku-buchou's head. "Just watch Taichiichi play."

Dan hit the tennis ball, just then, sending it flying to the other side of the net.

"Chance of a cross-court: 87 percent," Inui said calmly, already at the ball. As was to be expected, he returned it easily.

Dan, however, smiled in satisfaction. "Chance of a short left, 80 percent," he said, running to return the shot.

Inui smiled a bit. "I must commend your data," he said, hitting the shot back. "It's not as accurate as my own, of course, but apparently sufficient for now."

"I'm glad you appreciate my effort desu." Dan reached for the ball just in time. "That was only a 57 percent chance."

"Of course," Inui said, muttering another figure under his breath as he returned Dan's shot, "you could also be bluffing."

"And what are the chances for that?" Scraping his racquet lightly against the ground, Dan sent the ball into a lob too high for even the tall Inui to reach, landing it on the backline.

"About the same as the chances your move just now wasn't Oishi's Moon Volley."

A smile on his lips, Dan merely shrugged as the score was called out in his favour. "I've never been particularly known for my originality desu."

"Only your honesty, indeed." Inui smirked, getting ready to serve again. "There's a 76 percent chance your habit of copying is exactly why you opt for mimicking my manner of speech instead of deciding on your own favoured way of expressing the data, like most data players."

"I'm afraid your data fails you for once desu." Dan returned the shot. "It's because Sengoku-buchou says he gets a headache when I talk about data desu."

"Those two should just stop talking," Minami muttered. "They're supposed to be playing! Won't it be bad for their stamina?"

"For Inui? Given his usual stamina, he could probably sing and not be slowed down," Sengoku replied. "To Taichiichi? It might actually be beneficial to him, really, or at least his data. He says his mind works better when he talks. …Might explain why it's so hard to make him shut up."

"But then why does Inui talk so much?" asked Higashikata. "Surely he has realized that if Dan-kun insists on talking continuously, it definitely isn't slowing him down at least."

"I'd say he's trying to distract him." Sengoku nodded towards the two playing boys. "As we all know, Taichiichi isn't accustomed to doing calculations, not at the level Inui is, anyway. Talking may help him do so, but if Inui can direct his mind to something else, it's going to backfire." He grinned, then. "Too bad Taichiichi is too determined for that."

"You mean, too stubborn." Muromachi's lips twitched. "Wonder who he learnt it from."

"Mm-hmm." Sengoku glanced around discreetly, trying to spot a familiar head of silver hair in the audience. He didn't see anything like it, but he was fairly sure Akutsu was somewhere around nevertheless. He knew his friend too well to believe otherwise.

The first game ended with Inui's victory, much to Seigaku's apparent delight, though it was not by far. Preparing for his first serve, now, Dan smiled politely at his opponent.

"Please have pity on me." These words were enough to make Sengoku grin again – not that Sengoku's grin required much incentive.

"Ah. The Puppy Dog Serve," Inui said, adjusting his glasses. "A serve that's hit almost directly towards the opponent, with a spin that is ideal to the ball in the current conditions. Therefore, most tennis players' instincts, which usually tell the best direction to hit the ball towards to, prevent them from returning the serve." He nodded, changing his position into one perfect for returning the serve. "This should be easy enough."

The expression on Inui's face as his hand twitched involuntarily, taking the racquet out of the ball's path at the last second, was definitely worth seeing.

"I'm afraid," Dan said happily, "that returning my serve is not as much about not relying on your instincts as it is about ignoring them entirely." Cocking his head to the side, he added, "And to do that, one must first be familiar with them. That, I'm afraid, you are not."

"Remarkable, indeed." Inui adjusted his glasses again, this time somewhat nervously. "If you take that point of view, not only is my data rendered useless, it actually becomes a hindrance."

"A hindrance? Not exactly desu." Digging another ball from his pocket, Dan smiled kindly. "I prefer the term, 'obstacle' desu."

Dan won his first service game with straight aces. This, naturally, made Inui work even harder to win his own service game again. Too bad Dan was working a lot harder now, too.

There was no idle chatter, now, just Inui's comments on percentages and an occasional curt reply from Dan. The Moon Volley of the first game was followed by a Snake, then a Jack Knife that, while lacking the usual strength, seemed to surprise Inui enough to delay his reactions for exactly the second the shot needed to reach its goal. The Seigaku team seemed to be watching the match more attentively, now, commenting every time Dan showed another one of his copied techniques.

Inui won the next point, though, followed by a lengthy rally neither seemed to get control of. At some point, though, Sengoku's sharp eyes noted Dan's lips moving quietly.

"Oh, unlucky," he sighed. "Taichiichi's started." At the team's puzzled gazes, he pointed at his boyfriend. "Remember the time Kenta asked whether Taichiichi actually uses any data while playing? And how he decided to prove it? Well, he's doing it again."

The Yamabuki players glanced at Dan. The nigh-silent mutters were now loud enough that a somewhat puzzled Inui could actually make sense of them.

"…Left 0.2 right 0.7 centre 0.1, seven degrees, nine, eleven, step back left 0.4 hit it 0.95 –"

"Is that your version of data processing, Dan-kun?" Inui returned the younger boy's shot once again. "Sounds rather… cluttered."

"That's what you get for mainly using it to calculate your own moves." Dan smiled briefly, running to meet the ball. "On yourself you have complete data, which means it's also more complicated – 0.71 chance right NOW – but you also know you're right." Seeing Inui moving for the ball just a tad too late, he added, "Unlike you, I'm afraid, Inui-san."

"He can go on like that for hours." Sengoku rubbed his temples. "Just thinking about it gives me a headache. As far as Taichiichi's habits go, this is one of the less adorable ones."

"Just be glad he doesn't recite the data aloud all the time," Minami said with a comforting pat on the shoulder. "And that most matches don't require him to think so fast he has to talk."

"Just think of the data he could be spreading. Of course, the people who don't know about your kissing skills are probably rarer than ones who do, but…" Muromachi rarely was very helpful.

"Oh, just shut up, Panda-chan." Sengoku sighed. "At least it isn't loud enough to reach over here."

"That isn't a very nice to say about your boyfriend." Kita shook his head. "Perhaps we should tell Dan-kun?"

"Perhaps we should," Nitobe agreed. "Maybe then he'll stop talking to Sengoku-buchou altogether."

Not for the first time, Sengoku decided very firmly to stop listening to his team altogether.

The game slowly progressed into yet another victory of Inui's, though this time the playing was even more even than before. As Dan prepared for his serve, he smiled confidently.

As did Inui.

Dan served his usual way, voicing his plea before sending the ball on its path. To both his and the audience's amazement, though, instead of avoiding the ball, Inui managed to force his racquet to the ball, hitting it back. Trying to reach it, Dan found his own racquet twitching out of the way, instead.

The Seigaku team cheered, while Yamabuki was shocked. Dan, however, seemed to recover fast.

"Hitting the ball with the exact same spin? Clever, Inui-san, very clever indeed desu. As is only to be expected of you, of course." His racquet held under his arm, Dan tugged at his ponytail with both hands, tightening it before again taking a grasp on his racquet. "Too bad that won't always work desu."

Inui raised his eyebrows questioningly as Dan prepared to do another serve. Again hearing the words, "Please have pity on me," he seemed quite confident. As the ball was again shot right towards him, he moved towards it, forcing his racquet to hit the ball.

Just as he did so, though, his face took on a rather curious expression. Mere seconds later the audience realized the thing his ever so calculative mind had already figured out.

With a nice, spin-influenced arc, the ball flew right outside the court lines.

"Not bad at all," Inui mused. "If I don't return the ball with exactly the same spin and speed, it won't return at all. But if you aim it along a sufficient path, returning it will make it go out, given these constants." Then, he adjusted his glasses. "Doesn't mean I'm going to stop trying, of course."

"You are more than welcome not to, Inui-san desu."

Although Dan's serve had been broken, his service game was not. Again even, the two moved on to Inui's serve. Sengoku was silently thankful for all that time Dan had spent practising against Muromachi – if he hadn't been able to return Inui's super-fast serve at least most of the time, it would have been impossible for Dan to ever break the other's serve. And with mere unbroken serves the match would have continued forever.

As it was, serves and returns were changed again and again. Though Dan came close a couple of times, neither of the players managed to break the other's service game. Dan added a few more copied moves to his playing, which gained some more comments from Seigaku.

None of them, however, had quite the same influence on the audience as when he moved in for a drop shot and the ball quietly rolled back towards the net after hitting the ground.

Zero Shiki Drop Shot.

"…So, when you said he's mimicked all regulars in Seigaku…" Muromachi's voice was somewhat faint.

"I never said it was necessarily only the ones who he has played against, yeah." Sengoku grinned. "Well, so he doesn't have the power to mimic Kawamura's Hadoukyuu, but he doesn't play at all anymore… Neither does Tezuka, of course, but apparently it has not stopped Taichiichi."

"Remarkable," Inui said, adjusting his glasses. "That shot is one that very few people can accomplish."

"Thank you, Inui-san." Dan shrugged modestly. "It did take me more time to perfect than any other move I've copied desu."

"There are certainly worse things to devote one's time to."

While others were still somewhat stunned, Sengoku kept his attention on Dan. He frowned. Though the younger boy was still smiling even as he again prepared for a return, there was something off with him. Something he couldn't put a finger on, not exactly wrong but…

As Sengoku glanced at Inui, it suddenly hit him. There was nothing wrong with Dan's playing. There was just something missing from Inui's.

"Oi, Panda-kun," he said, tugging at his fuku-buchou's sleeve. "Look. Tell me what's the difference between those two."

"You want a complete list or just the highlights?"

"No, I want a serious answer. No height difference or different teams or anything else from your oh-so-smart mouth. Just… look at Inui. And tell me what's wrong with him."

Muromachi did look at Inui. Then, his eyes widened. "Damn," he muttered. "He's hardly even breathing hard."

"Indeed." Sengoku nodded grimly. "And if you look at Taichiichi, you see that he's clearly getting tired."

"This is bad," Muromachi muttered. "Stamina's one of Inui's best point, but Dan-kun's always had trouble with it. At this rate, Dan-kun will run out of stamina before he can win."

"Inui's probably drawing this out on purpose, knowing Dan-kun's problem," Minami joined the conversation after a while. "A couple of times he has ignored perfect chance balls. Dan-kun can handle a normal-length match, it's not like he could be a regular otherwise, but this one has already gone on longer than your average match – average for him, anyway." After all, Dan was somewhat in a habit of clearing his matches quickly.

"Hush," Sengoku breathed hastily. "You'll jinx it!"

And, even as the other two exchanged glances of the "Buchou's at it again" variety, the world apparently decided to prove Sengoku's superstitions right. Reaching out to catch Inui's shot, Dan suddenly simply started to fall, the racquet falling from his hands as he did. Inui froze, as did the audience.

"Oh shit oh shit," muttered Sengoku. "This is your fault, Kenta, you shouldn't have said it like that, it's all your fault and oh my god now Taichi's fainted and –" He was halfway to the court before he finished his sentence.

"Wow," murmured Muromachi. "I guess Dan-kun indeed was pretty tired, in the end."

"No shit." Kita rolled his eyes. "And I guess Seigaku just got kind of happy."

Sengoku, however, heard neither of them. Even if their voices had reached the court, he was too busy shaking his unconscious boyfriend to listen.

* * *

"…I'm sorry, everybody desu." Dan's eyes were lowered to the ground even as he leant back against Sengoku's chest. The red-headed captain claimed he shouldn't get up yet after getting so exhausted he actually fainted, so stuck with sitting he was for the time being, and apparently either unable or unwilling to protest as his boyfriend wanted to hold him close.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Taichiichi," Sengoku said, ruffling his hair. He never had been very discreet about his attentions, after all, even if he never got his kiss. "Next time, you'll win for sure."

"But because of me, we lost desu," Dan muttered. "It's my fault."

"No, it isn't," Muromachi said. "It's not anyone's fault – or if it is, then it's Sengoku-buchou's for making such a line-up. No matter how good you are, you're bound to lose if you go against someone whose strength exploits your weakness."

"Hey!" exclaimed Sengoku, irritated. "Are you saying it's my fault we lost?"

"Yes, I am," Muromachi replied dryly. "Dan-kun playing against Inui was bound to go wrong, no matter how badly he wanted to do it. Your duty as the captain would have been to change the line-up even if he was excited." Everyone around them nodded in agreement. Apparently it had been entirely forgotten they'd been more than glad to send Dan against Inui.

"Ah, here you go, Dan-kun." Minami had returned with a few cans of soda, offering one of the ice-cold drinks to the youngest boy. "That was a good match, in the end."

"Not good enough, though desu." Sighing, Dan opened the can, raising it to his lips to take a careful sip. "It would have been good if I hadn't collapsed." With another sigh, he seemed to hardly even notice as Sengoku drew him just a bit closer. "Guess I'm just too weak…"

"Nonsense, you silly." Sengoku nuzzled the now messy blue hair. "You did your best, right? And next time you'll do better. Everyone loses sometimes. And besides, we are second. Still going to Kantou, still the second best in the whole Tokyo Prefecture. That's not bad."

"Hey, Dan-kun." Minami smiled a bit. "Three years ago, we were also against Seigaku in the Tokyo finals. And back then, we also lost in Singles Two. Care to remember who was the one who lost?"

The answer came instantly. "Akutsu-senpai, against Echizen Ryoma, six games to four."

"Exactly. And did you then blame him for Yamabuki losing in the finals?"

Dan blinked. "Of course not! But – that was –"

"That was Akutsu-senpai," Sengoku finished for him. "But, Taichiichi, it doesn't make any difference. The same rules apply to everyone – and the rules say you're silly for blaming yourself."

"I was not aware there were such rules desu."

"Of course there are. Sengoku's Rules of Awesome Tennis. Now stop moping, okay? You're making me feel even worse about losing, myself."

Dan seemed somewhat startled at this. "Ah, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to imply –"

"I know you didn't." Sengoku chuckled. "Calm down, Taichiichi. Neither of us is to blame for the loss, and the Jimmies aren't at fault, either. All of us played to the best of our abilities, and you can't ask anyone to do more than their very best, ne?"

"…I guess so." Dan sipped at his soda again. Then, with a suddenly somewhat startled expression, he said, "Ah, excuse me! It is horribly self-centred of me to assume that my performance would be important enough to the team to actually –" He was cut off as a hand closed over his mouth.

"Oh, stop it." Sengoku wasn't sure whether to be more exasperated or amused. "We lost, we still advance, we'll get back at them next time. 'Kay?"

"…Okay." Dan let his head fall back on Sengoku's shoulder. "I guess I'll just have to train my stamina," he said then, determined. "If I do that, my chances will be much better desu."

"You can't possibly get your stamina to Inui's level," Sengoku said. "That guy's a monster."

"Of course not. But perhaps I could last long enough the next time to break his serve before fainting desu."

"Well, we'll see that next time. Because you know what?" Sengoku winked at the whole team, not only Dan. "When Seigaku reaches the Kantou finals, we're going to be the ones waiting for them there!"

There wasn't a single sound of disagreement to be heard. 


	10. Musings

Disclaimer: I own very little.

* * *

Nothing in Tennis

_"Love means nothing in tennis, but in life, it is everything."_

_- Anonymous_

Chapter 8  
Musings

Sengoku walked into the club room, not surprised to find his boyfriend already there. What did surprise him, though, was that Dan's entire attention seemed centred on the little TV screen there. Glancing at the screen, he saw a recording of, not very surprisingly, what seemed to be a high school tennis match. The uniforms were ones he recognized.

"Collecting data on Rikkai, now?" he asked, sitting down next to Dan to wait for the rest of the team to show up. It was rare that he was the second one here, and every moment alone with Dan was to be enjoyed to the fullest. "Who's your current victim?"

"Marui Bunta-san." Surprisingly, Dan didn't even protest at the word "victim." Interesting, mused Sengoku. "My net play could use quite a lot of work, and I thought his volleys might be worth another look."

"Marui's volleys?" Sengoku echoed. "But, Taichiichi, he's known as the volley master! Wouldn't it make sense to learn something, you know, simpler at first?"

Dan sighed. "Sengoku-buchou, the first non-standard serve I ever learnt properly was the Twist Serve. I don't exactly make a habit of starting out easy desu."

"Point, I guess. And if you think you can pull it off, well, why not?" Sengoku turned his eyes back to the screen, which currently showed a red-haired boy. "…Do you think so?"

"With enough practice? Yes, I can desu. It probably won't be easy, though; I'm not exactly a serve and volleyer."

"No, you're just an all-rounder." Sengoku wrapped an arm around Dan's shoulders. "Look, kid, you're going to do just fine. If those volleys take too much time to learn, try something simpler."

"I know I'm going to do just fine. The problem is, I don't know if just fine will be enough." Cocking his head to the side, Dan looked intently as Marui executed yet another volley. "So, starting with a primary goal of twenty-five degrees, and taking into account…"

Sengoku tuned out Dan's mumbling, knowing from the low tones it wasn't meant for him anyway. Never mind dating, at times like this he had to wonder how Dan tolerated him around, and vice versa – after all, their views on life were quite drastically different. While Dan calculated things and tried his best to predict everything as accurately as possible, Sengoku was quite content to leave everything up to chance. In tennis, he relied mostly on power, while Dan preferred technique due to his lack of physical strength. He was a terrible flirt, while Dan preferred to keep the public display of affection to minimum whenever it went past the innocence of holding hands. By all logic, they should have broken up before they even got together.

But then, that was exactly why he was called lucky, right? Because sometimes, he defied all logic.

Still mumbling and scribbling apparently nonsensical figures in his notebook, Dan leant his head against Sengoku's shoulder, never taking his eyes from the screen.

Oh, yes. Definitely Lucky Sengoku.

* * *

Dan was somewhat relieved to find the house empty as he came home. A note on the kitchen table told him that his mother had gone shopping and his sister was playing with the neighbour's daughter. She was probably going to come home soon and wouldn't Dan look after her until she came back?

Like she had to even ask. That was what he did anyway, wasn't it? Looking after Meiko, always, everywhere. Somebody had to, after all, and if it wasn't him or his mother, who was going to do it?

He worried, sometimes, about what might happen to her during long practices when he was unable to look after her. That was why he always hesitated about staying away for longer than absolutely necessary even on the days his father hadn't told him which time he should be back.

Soon she'd be old enough to go to school, thankfully, and hopefully spend more time over at friends and such. She was growing up, as was he, and though his mother was too afraid to do so, as soon as he was old enough to get a proper job he planned to take his sister and leave. Surely it would manage, right? Maybe even their mother would dare to leave if she wouldn't be the only one supporting them, they could all leave and go somewhere far enough that his father couldn't find them anymore.

If only he could survive for long enough.

Soon enough he heard a hesitant, "I'm home," from the door. Walking to greet his sister, he found Meiko looking cautiously around as though to check whether he was the only one home.

"Welcome home, Meiko-chan," he said softly. "Father isn't home yet."

He felt pained at the way her expression brightened at the news. Something like this shouldn't have happened, shouldn't have been allowed to happen… but he couldn't help it, could he, and thus he simply had to live with it.

"Ne, Nii-chan, do you have lots of homework?" asked Meiko. "Can you play with me, please?"

"I'm afraid I do, Meiko-chan," Dan sighed. "But you can play in my room if you want desu. Then we can keep each other company."

"Okay desu!" Smiling happily, Meiko ran into her own room to get her toys. He thought of reminding her about the importance of a proper snack, but then decided against it, heading towards his room. He had no idea when their father would come home, and he wanted her out of the way by then. If that meant letting her skip eating to get her out of sight faster, then so be it.

Soon enough he was working on his Physics homework, listening idly as Meiko came up with the most exciting adventures for her dolls. It somewhat bothered him how often the general plot of whatever she played consisted of a mighty hero or magical being of some kind saving poor princesses and their little children from horrible monsters that more often than not had nothing to do with dragons. It wasn't healthy, he thought, or at least not the reasons behind her mild obsession, and hearing it always hurt him anyway since he knew all too well there were no such saviours in real life.

Their father sure knew how to ruin a life early on.

Was that man his father, anyway? Or were all those hateful claims true and he was truly a bastard? He wouldn't mind it, really, not if it meant not being related to the man. But it wasn't a choice or anything, was it, and his mother always insisted otherwise… not that she could say anything else, of course. Who knew what the man would have done to her, and him, too. And what if Meiko-chan was then left alone with the man? He simply couldn't allow that to happen!

He didn't resemble the man much, at least, but that wasn't much of a proof. Many people he knew didn't resemble their parents at all. By appearance, at least.

He'd read somewhere that people who had grown up in an abusive home tended to either be violent themselves, or end up in abusive relationships. The former certainly didn't apply to him, and he doubted Sengoku would count for the latter, but…

Sometimes, he did wonder why he still felt so attracted to Akutsu.

"Nii-chan?" Meiko suddenly asked, making him look up. "Do you like anyone?"

What a great timing his little sister had, indeed! Dan considered the question for a moment. Of course, the answer was clear, but whether he could risk certain people finding out, well, that was another thing entirely. Finally, though, he sighed, not entirely unhappily. "Yes, I do desu."

"And do they like you back?" Meiko cocked her had to the side in question, her games forgotten for now.

"So they say desu." And Dan was going to believe it. He had to, if he wanted any chance of staying even relatively happy in the middle of everything. And why would Sengoku lie to him about something like that? "We are… together."

"That's good." Meiko looked thoughtful for a moment before asking, "Who is it?"

Dan hesitated for a moment. Finally, he said, "Promise you won't tell Father?"

Meiko nodded seriously. Young though she was, she already knew that there were some things Father must absolutely not know. She could surely keep a secret.

Opening a drawer on his desk, Dan drew out a pile of photographs. Spreading it on his desk, he looked through them until he found a particular one. In the picture Sengoku grinned at the camera, his fingers forming a victory sign. "It's this person," he said, giving the picture to Meiko.

"Ooh." Meiko studied the picture intently. "…Does he hit you, Nii-chan?"

Dan's eyes widened in shock. "Of course not!" he replied with absolute certainty in his voice. "He never would desu."

"Do you hit him, then?"

Rising from his chair, Dan dropped down to his knees next to his sister. "Look, Meiko-chan, being in a relationship doesn't always mean someone gets hurt desu. Neither I nor Sengoku-senpai – that's his name – would ever even dream of hitting the other desu. What Father does… it's… wrong." Even though even he sometimes had to remind himself of the fact. The human mind was an incredible thing when it attempted to shield itself from pain.

"Why does he do it, then?" Meiko looked at him innocently, obviously trusting him to give her an answer. Dan swallowed, unable to do so, simply drawing her into a hug.

"I don't know, Meiko-chan," he said, his voice barely more than a whisper. "I really don't know desu."

Meiko didn't say anything else, now, simply hugged him back as tightly as she could. Dan stayed quiet as well, his thoughts now revolving around his boyfriend.

If his father ever found out, there'd certainly be hell to pay. And, if things got bad enough, Sengoku might be hurt, too. That was something he could not allow to happen – but how could he prevent it?

He probably should start avoiding Sengoku, too, but it would hurt too much. He already hurt whenever he caught a glimpse of Akutsu at school, and he'd heard the third-year had started skipping classes and that really wasn't good, especially on his last year, but what could he do? Dan itched to go and talk with him, nag at him like he'd always used to, but if he did do that Akutsu would get involved and that could only end badly. At least Sengoku never asked him questions, anymore, never wondered why Dan still wouldn't let him even see him without a shirt, never showed any signs of suspecting anything beyond his usual off-court clumsiness. Surely, if he just never said anything, he could keep Sengoku far away from his father…

If he couldn't, well… He'd just have to. Losing Akutsu hurt so much, even if it had been by choice; if he lost Sengoku, too, whether by choice or not, he wasn't sure he could bear it. And he had to stay strong, had to stay strong for the sake of his mother and Meiko. Had to stay strong to survive.

If only it hadn't been so difficult… 


	11. Lustful Lullaby

Disclaimer: I own very little.

* * *

Nothing in Tennis

_"Love means nothing in tennis, but in life, it is everything."_

_- Anonymous_

Chapter 10  
Lustful Lullaby

"Taichiichi?" Sengoku set a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "Are you free tonight?"

Dan looked up from his notebook, slightly distracted. "Huh?"

"Well, it's just, my parents and sister are going away," Sengoku explained, scratching the back of his neck. "And I just thought… maybe you could come over? We could, you know, eat pizza and watch a movie and… something." He flashed the younger boy his best "lucky" grin.

Dan, however, averted his eyes. "I'm afraid I can't come." His voice was quiet, reluctant – Sengoku wasn't sure, however, whether it was because he was disappointed because he couldn't come over or because he didn't like lying. "I have to look after my sister."

"Ah, okay, then." Sengoku did his best to hide his disappointment. No parents, no school the next day… It would have been the perfect opportunity to hopefully take their relationship… further. "Ah, well, some other day, then?"

"…Right," said Dan quietly even as Sengoku was already walking away. "Some other day desu." 

* * *

"Nii-chan?" The small voice, quiet even to begin with, was muffled with tears and the material of his sweater. "Are we there yet?"

"Almost, Meiko-chan, almost desu." Dan held her even closer to himself, wishing it weren't so cold. It was supposed to be almost summer, right? So why was it so cold, on this day out of all of them? It wasn't fair. But then, when was life ever fair?

"Can we really go there?" she asked quietly. "Will they let us in?"

"I'm sure we can," Dan said, and for the moment, it was the only thing he was indeed sure about. "Do you remember the person I showed you in that picture? The one I like? We're going to his house desu."

"…He won't hurt you, will he?" Meiko mumbled. "For showing up so late?"

Dan swallowed, shaking his head though his sister wasn't even looking at him at the moment. "No, he won't," he whispered.

He was glad to be able to believe so. 

* * *

It was, Sengoku thought as he draw the blanket tighter around himself, awfully cold for this time of the year. Then again, it was almost midnight already, so it presumably wasn't supposed to be hot, but…

None of this changed the fact that he was cold, and alone, and would have much rather been snuggling up to a warm person next to him. A very particular person, preferably. One who would fit so well in his lap, lips over his, slim arms wrapped around his neck even as he drew the other closer…

Well, damn. Those fantasies were no good. A bit more and he'd have to leave the somewhat warm couch in favour of a very cold shower, which definitely wasn't going to help anything.

He just wished he could have had Dan here with him. Not even making out, necessarily – though that would certainly be a plus –, but, just… being. Just sitting alone wasn't much fun.

Perhaps he should just go to sleep. Except he didn't feel sleepy yet. And though the movie on the TV right now wasn't very good, he wanted to see all of it simply for the principle. Sengoku Kiyosumi finished what he started, damn it.

Suddenly, though, he was torn from his quiet musings by the chime of the doorbell. Throwing the blanket aside, he stood up, hurrying towards the door. Who could it be at this time of the night? Cautiously, he peered outside, but it was too dark to see anything properly.

"Who's there?" he called out.

"Sengoku-senpai?" he heard a quiet voice through the door. "It's me, Dan. Taichi. Please open up…"

Despite his never-ending optimism, not even Sengoku could believe Dan had simply changed his mind about coming over, especially not at this late an hour. Therefore, it was with slight dread though no hesitation as he opened the door to let his kouhai in.

In the light flooding from the doorway Dan looked horribly pale, but Sengoku tried his best to ignore it. Somewhat surprisingly, the younger boy was not alone. He was holding a little girl in his arms; she couldn't have been more than five, if even that. Her arms were wrapped around Dan's neck, her face hid against the boy's shoulder, and she was shivering. It was no wonder – aside from a jacket and an untied pair of shoes, she was apparently wearing nothing but a set of pyjamas to protect her against the chilly night air.

"Get in, fast." Sengoku stepped aside to allow Dan and the younger boy's sister – for who else could it be? – into the house. The younger boy seemed to be cold, too, but even though that worried him, it was not of significant importance right now. There were more important things – like the girl. "Come on. She can borrow my sister's bed." Walking ahead to show the way, Sengoku slowed down and finally stopped as he realized Dan wasn't following him. Turning around, he looked quizzically at his boyfriend. "What's wrong?"

"I – I'm sorry," Dan whispered. "I'm nothing but a bother to you…"

"Are you stupid?" Sengoku stepped forward, grasping on Dan's arm to tug him along. "Come on, Taichiichi. Do you want her to freeze? We can talk later."

As though in a daze, Dan followed him to his sister's room. Together they took the little girl's jacket and shoes off and tucked the half-asleep child in. Sengoku listened quietly as Dan assured her in gentle whispers that they were safe now, that nothing could hurt her here, she could safely go to sleep and not worry, really. Finally, she closed her eyes with a silent sigh, Dan still petting her hair soothingly.

After a moment Sengoku set his hand on Dan's shoulder. Looking up, the boy nodded slowly, then followed Sengoku into the living room. Sitting obediently down on the couch Sengoku indicated, he then was silent as the older boy looked at him expectantly.

"So. Explanations." As though he didn't have good enough of an imagination to know what had most likely happened. "Not that I'm upset or anything, but what has you turning up at my doorstep close to midnight with a child?"

Dan bit his lip, obviously unwilling to discuss the issue. Sitting down next to him, drawing the previously abandoned blanket over them both, Sengoku wrapped his arms around the smaller boy. "Come on, Taichiichi, tell me. I'm worried about you."

Dan sighed, a tired, almost teary sound that tore at Sengoku's heart. As he spoke, his voice was hardly more than a whisper. "My father… not that it surprises you, does it? Akutsu-senpai surely told you already desu."

"Yes, yes he did." Sengoku, too, sighed, pressing his cheek against the blue hair. "But what exactly happened? You've never sought help before, why now?"

"Father just got even worse than usual. He… Meiko-chan woke up and came to see why he was yelling, and he threatened to hit her, he never does that. Meiko-chan was so scared she started crying and he then yelled at my mother and… well, I took Meiko-chan and ran. I couldn't think of anywhere else to go, and I didn't want to go back there, not right away, so…"

"You did right to come here," Sengoku soothed him. "Is it always like that, though? Has he always yelled and hit you and whatnot?" Surely not, right? If it had always been so bad, nothing could explain the change in Dan during these two years. He'd been so bright-eyed back then, so happy and positive… Not that he wasn't that anymore, sure, but there hadn't been dark moments back then. And surely he would have noticed earlier if such a thing had been going on? He couldn't have been that bad a fuku-buchou… could he?

"He's… always been very short-tempered," Dan whispered, looking down at his hands. "Lately, though, it's got even worse. He's having some kind of trouble at work, and he's – he's got some stupid thoughts in his mind, too." Sengoku sensed there was a long story behind this statement, but he didn't pry. Dan would tell all in its due time. Right now getting information wasn't that important; what was, though, was being there for the other boy, reminding him he wasn't alone in the middle of all this mess.

"Well, you can stay here tonight." Sengoku hugged the boy just a bit tighter. "As I already told you in practice, my family's away tonight, so no explanations are needed. And I'm sure that even if they were home, they'd let you stay. Really. You can come over whenever."

"No I can't." Dan's voice was a bit muffled now as he hid his face into Sengoku's shirt. "Your parents would tell someone, but father would just tell I ran from home and lied about him or something, and then there'd be Hell for me to pay."

"Won't he already be mad at you for going somewhere else, even if there aren't adults present?" The thought worried Sengoku even as he started soothingly stroking the other boy's back.

"Yes. No. Maybe. I don't know." After a tiny pause, Dan continued, "And – I don't really care, either… All that matters to me is that he can't hurt Meiko right now."

"Oh, Taichiichi." Sengoku held the younger boy as close as he only could. "You shouldn't have to go through all this…"

"World rarely abides to any set of rules, though desu," Dan muttered into Sengoku's chest. "Many things that shouldn't happen do… And things that should happen don't desu."

There was little Sengoku could say to that, so he just stayed quiet, holding Dan close. Some time later, though, he felt the other boy moving a bit, settling more comfortably into his lap. He didn't react to this, thinking Dan was simply seeking a better position, until he felt a pair of lips brushing against his cheek.

As Dan's mouth came over his, he was hardly going to protest. He also didn't think much of the hand sliding down his chest, even if this sudden change of mood was somewhat surprising. However, as he felt Dan's hand coming over his groin in a way that was anything but accidental, judging by the position of the hand as well as the way it somewhat hesitantly rubbed over his denim-clad cock, his train of thought came to a screeching halt.

He knew Dan was a virgin, of course – the boy had, unbelievable though it sounded, never even dated anyone before him. Thus he'd gone against his usual habit of screw first, think later, not wanting to push the younger boy into anything he wasn't ready for. It meant a lot of cold showers and dates with his own hand, naturally, considering he was not only a healthy teenage boy but a healthy teenage boy with a somewhat overactive sex drive, but he figured that if he couldn't do it to give Dan enough time, he wasn't fit for a long-term relationship at all. After all, he cared for Dan much more than for his usual girlfriends and boyfriends. Never before had he actually wanted to get more out of a relationship than fun dates and some sex, and he wanted this to succeed, whatever happened.

So what was he supposed to do when his oh so pure and innocent boyfriend was apparently trying to seduce him?

With a great effort that had little to do with strength, he managed to grasp on Dan's wrist and push the boy's hand away. "Don't do that, Taichiichi."

"…So you don't want me." The tone of Dan's voice was a mixture of anger and disappointment and even slight fear, and Sengoku winced at it alone, but he had to stay strong and not be swayed by the voice.

Dan pouted a bit, the pout somehow managing to appear sensuous instead of childish, and Sengoku groaned inwardly. 'Hold on tight,' he told himself. 'Don't let it get at you.' This was one situation when he simply couldn't let his control slip. If he did, even for a minute, he'd probably never forgive himself for the results.

"It's not that I don't want you," Sengoku said with what he hoped was his most reassuring voice. "Gods know I do, probably more than I should, even. However, it's rather clear you're not in your right mind at the moment. If we actually did anything now, we'd both regret it come morning. And I don't –" he paused for a moment, trying his best not to put his words in a way that would make Dan feel any worse about himself. "I don't want our first time to be just so you can forget about your bastard of a father for a while," he finished.

"Why not?" asked Dan stubbornly. "It's not like I don't want you otherwise, too. Just – just now – why can't you help me forget, just for a second?" He looked away now, not meeting Sengoku's eyes anymore, which was something of a relief. Much though Sengoku didn't like the wordless implications of this gesture, at least it meant he didn't have to bear the pleading look for the moment.

"Taichiichi, you deserve better. I deserve better, too. And right now, you aren't thinking clearly enough to know what you are getting yourself into. I don't want either of us regret it afterwards. If I –" he swallowed, the mere thought making him feel somewhat ill, "—if I now had sex with you, I wouldn't be much better than a rapist."

"You can't rape the willing." Gods, child, why do you keep tempting?

"Consensual sex requires not only agreement, but also mutual awareness of the weight of the situation." Sengoku looked seriously at Dan, even if the younger boy wasn't looking back right now. "And you, I believe, aren't aware enough at the moment."

For a while, Dan was silent, avoiding Sengoku's eyes. Then, though, he buried his face in Sengoku's shoulder. For a moment, the older boy simply held his boyfriend, unsurprised as he soon found Dan's shoulders shaking with silent tears.

It was after quite a while that Dan finally spoke again. "Don't you ever get tired of me, Sengoku-senpai?" Dan's voice was barely audible, muffled by the older boy's shirt, and Sengoku had to strain his ears to hear it. "I'm so – I'm so small and childish and troublesome. Even now, I can only cry desu. I'm so useless…"

"You're anything but useless, Taichiichi," Sengoku said quietly, hugging Dan just a bit closer. "You're polite, helpful, intelligent, and an all around wonderful boy. I wouldn't know what to do without you. And it's not childish to cry, not at all." Gently raising Dan's face to make the younger boy look at him, he then softly kissed a tear away. "Sometimes, I think us other guys are childish not to cry. I certainly feel like crying sometimes. You're brave, Taichiichi, to actually do so."

"It's not bravery, it's weakness." Dan clutched onto him even tighter than before. "I wish I was stronger so I didn't have to cry…"

"I hope you never get too jaded to cry." Sengoku gently combed the blue hair with his fingers. "If there weren't people like you in the world, who can still believe in things and be disappointed enough to cry when something fails them, I wouldn't have much hope left for humanity."

"The ones who destroy hope for humanity are people like my father." Dan's voice was hardly more than a whisper now. "Sometimes… sometimes I wish he would just go away…"

To this, Sengoku found, he had nothing to say. Therefore he simply held Dan close until the quiet sobs made way for quiet, regular breaths. Well, it was certainly no wonder if he felt sleepy, not so late and after such things.

Sengoku sighed, petting lightly the soft blue hair. Dan breathed peacefully, leaning against his chest. It seemed that, for the moment, the younger boy was at peace.

If only he could help it, that would always be the case. 

* * *

As Sengoku woke up, he was vaguely aware of being alone. Blinking, he sat up on his bed, finding its other half empty. He'd carried Dan into bed the night before, yet now there was no sign of the younger boy anywhere. He was just about to call out for his boyfriend as his nose caught a delicious scent.

Pulling on some fresh clothes, he wandered towards the kitchen and the smell. Once he got there, he found Dan happily preparing breakfast. The younger boy didn't notice him at first, allowing Sengoku a moment's opportunity to simply watch Dan.

The T-shirt Dan was wearing was far too large for him, one that Sengoku recognized as his own. His face no more had traces of tears, blue hair loosely tied back and looking like it hadn't been brushed in a while. His feet were bare aside from a pair of fluffy guest slippers, looking awfully cheerful in the morning light.

"Good morning, Taichiichi," he said, grinning as he leant against the doorframe. "That smells great."

"Ah, Sengoku-senpai!" Dan twirled around, a slight flush rising onto his cheeks as he saw his boyfriend. "Good morning! Ah, I hope you don't mind me borrowing the kitchen, I just thought you'd like a proper breakfast even though your mother isn't here desu. And the T-shirt, well, my own was all wrinkled from sleep and –"

"It's all right, really, Taichiichi." Sengoku smiled. "I can't cook one bit, so really, the breakfast is lovely. And as for the T-shirt, that's all my fault anyway. I hope sharing the bed wasn't too uncomfortable, it's not that big and…"

"Oh, no." Dan smiled at him and then winked. "At least I can now say I've slept with you desu" As soon as he'd said this, though, his expression turned serious. "Sengoku-senpai… thank you." He didn't specify what the thanks were for. He hardly needed to.

"Considering how close I was to giving in, I deserve no thanks." Sengoku raised his eyebrows. "I was right, though, wasn't I?"

"Yes, you were." Dan smiled faintly. "I… wasn't exactly in my right mind last night, I'm afraid. I'd say I was only in possession of 38 percent of my usual reasoning capability desu. Somewhat shameful, yes, but then I was quite shocked."

"Must have been less than that," Sengoku said teasingly. "Even your 38 percent would have been more than my 100 percent, I'm sure."

"Oh, don't exaggerate, Sengoku-senpai." Walking closer, Dan smiled up at him. "Seriously. Thank you, Sengoku-senpai."

"You're quite welcome." Sengoku leant down to press a kiss on Dan's lips. Then, softly, he said, "I love you, Taichiichi."

Dan's eyes shone as he looked up at his boyfriend. "Really?"

"Really really." At least he was fairly sure he did, given his rather limited experience when it came to actual love instead of sweet words said to every girl willing to listen. "I love you, Taichiichi. And I mean it."

The smile on Dan's face was brighter than any Sengoku had seen in quite a while. "I love you too, Sengoku-senpai desu!"

As Sengoku leant down for another kiss, he decided he wanted to hear those words much more often. 

* * *

Sengoku's family arrived eventually, finding Dan and Sengoku snuggling on the couch with Dan's little sister curled up next to her brother, all busy watching a children's anime. Dan seemed a bit startled at their arrival but relaxed as he noticed they all but minded the guests. Sengoku's sister immediately started fussing over the little girl, repeatedly pointing out how she was much cuter than her brother and wouldn't she like to play dress-up with nee-chan's things. Thankfully, none of them made any questions as to why Dan's sister was only wearing pyjamas and Dan himself had Sengoku's t-shirt on.

Sengoku's mother insisted on immediately starting cooking for the guest, adamantly refusing Dan's offers to help, practically chasing him away from the kitchen when he wouldn't listen. This made it all too easy for Sengoku to sneak into the kitchen for a word without his boyfriend hearing them.

"Look, Mum, about Taichiichi… well. Things aren't too good for him at home right now, so… You won't mind if I ask him over more often, will you?"

"Of course not, Kiyo-chan." His mother smiled. "And of course his sister may come over as well. It's nice to have a little kid here for a change!" Her smile was a bit softer than usually, Sengoku noticed. "I just hope he won't get into trouble…"

"As do I, Mum." Sengoku bit his lip. "As do I." 

* * *

"Fuck." Dropping his finished cigarette down to the ground, Akutsu crushed it with his heel before fumbling for another. "Fuck, fuck."

"That pretty much sums up my own feelings about the subject, too." Sengoku sighed. "And before you ask, yes, I'm entirely serious, no, I'm not exaggerating. It was close to midnight when he showed up at my door, his little sister in tow. And, Akutsu… he looked absolutely terrified." The redhead grimaced. "If only I could get my hands at that bastard, he wouldn't know what hit him."

"If I got at him, he wouldn't survive." There was no sign of exaggeration in Akutsu's voice. "Except that would get us convicted for harming a perfectly honourable fucking citizen. Bloody bastard's put up a pretty good façade."

"Well, he couldn't continue doing this otherwise, could he?" Sengoku spoke quietly, not looking at Akutsu now. "But nobody can even imagine him doing something so cruel… that's how he can continue doing it."

"That's how those bastards work." Akutsu lit the new cigarette, the smell invading Sengoku's nostrils. "Believe me, I know."

Sengoku assumed it to be the best not to ask exactly how Akutsu knew such a thing. Something told him he wouldn't be getting an answer any time soon, anyway. Not that it mattered, of course – Akutsu may have been his friend, but Dan was so much more.

"So, what should I do?" Sengoku sighed again. He'd now told Akutsu everything about that night – except for the details Akutsu didn't need to know, like little Dan trying unsuccessfully to seduce him. That was none of Akutsu's business, after all – and he quite suspected Akutsu would more appreciate not being told then the other way around. There were some things you did not want to know about your best friend's romantic relationship, especially if you wouldn't have really minded stealing their boyfriend.

"Not much you can do, really," Akutsu replied dryly. "If he got away with his little escape, stay alert in case he needs you again. And if he didn't… well. Keep fucking hoping."

Right now, Sengoku didn't feel very hopeful.


	12. Playing Games

Disclaimer: I own very little.

A/N: I'm sorry this chapter took so long. The main reason is that I spent forever debating whether this should be one or two chapters. In the end, I put it all together -- I hope it isn't too cluttered this way. 

* * *

Nothing in Tennis

_"Love means nothing in tennis, but in life, it is everything."_

_- Anonymous_

Chapter 11  
Playing Games

Yamabuki had never been a particularly quiet team. Even during matches, there was always some kind of noise from the sidelines, and during practice, there was never a quiet moment. The noisiest of all, of course, was the clubroom, and especially on days when they were going to have ranking matches. Though Sengoku had continued on Banji's tradition of not letting such matches have much influence on the regular team, they were still a subject of great interest and caused much talk both before and after. Tuning out the constant chatter as best as he could, Sengoku concentrated on looking at his boyfriend, who was quickly revising data of his opponents of the day.

Suddenly, there was a faint snapping sound Sengoku's ears caught even through the general noise. Though he didn't directly see the cause for the sound, the other results were visible enough: Dan's hair fell down all around his face, no more held up in a ponytail.

"Oh, damn desu." Dan frowned, crouching down to pick up the broken hair band from the floor. "How could it just snap like that? And of course it happens on the one day I don't have any spare ones with me desu!" He gave a helpless gaze around, only to see heads being shook in denial as nobody could help him with his problem. This was hardly surprising; after all, nobody else in the team had long hair. Like Muromachi had once said, they were hardly Hyoutei.

"Can't you play with your hair down?" Sengoku asked even as he tried to think how long it would be to run to the closest store to buy some hair bands. "Or would it get in the way too much?"

"Yes, it would," Dan sighed. "It's okay, though. I think I can handle this desu." With this, he started digging through his racquet bag. After a moment he found something with a triumphant little sound. "I knew I had it somewhere around here!"

Sengoku blinked as Dan drew something that looked like a piece of cloth from his bag. Then, however, he recognized this particular piece of cloth. It was the headband Dan had been wearing almost constantly a few years ago. "You still have that old thing?"

"Of course desu! Why would I ever throw it away?" asked Dan even as he slid the band around his head, adjusting it. "It fits better than it used to in middle school, at least… Well, this should do desu." Drawing the band up from his forehead, he pulled the last few strands of hair away from his face.

"Well, now that I think about it, you did have it when you first showed up in club," Sengoku said, frowning in thought. "But you gave it up soon after that… I just thought you'd lost it or something."

"Lost it? Oh, no. Rather, I was worried it'd get too worn if I wore it every day, so I just hid it in my bag for safekeeping. But it can't hurt to wear it just once, right? It's not that old, after all!"

Of course it wouldn't hurt, not the head band, anyway. Sengoku, however, couldn't help but feel a bit unsettled as he watched Dan happily adjusting the headband to hold his hair. He knew very well why Dan was holding onto the old thing – because of its original owner, of course. And if Akutsu still had such a hold over Dan… well, he had little hope of not losing Dan to Akutsu eventually.

But then, Dan had promised, hadn't he? And Dan never broke his promises. Sengoku would just have to stay strong and have faith in his boyfriend.

That, and this very evening he'd go to the nearest store and buy as many non-girly hair bands as he could find. Just, you know. Just in case. Like a good boyfriend would do.

Jealousy had nothing to do with it. Honest.

…And really, he didn't even for a moment consider stealing the headband from Dan's bag and disposing of it entirely.

* * *

The next day, after school, Sengoku was on a very good mood. They didn't have afternoon practice, but Dan and he had agreed to meet and go out together. It was rare that he got to spend time with his boyfriend outside school and tennis club, and he was intent on enjoying every single moment. Thus there was a broad smile of excitement as he walked towards their designated meeting place.

The smile faltered a bit, though, as the figure he saw there was quite a bit taller and broader than he had expected.

"Sengoku." Akutsu nodded at him. "Before you go off with your boyfriend, I'm going to borrow him for a word." There was no sign in either Akutsu's tone or expression that he might not be completely serious about the matter – or that he expected Sengoku not to agree. Not that there was much to agree with, mind. It wasn't like this was a suggestion, after all, never mind a question – there was simply an announcement, curt and sharp, telling him how things were.

"As long as you bring him back in one piece." Not that he truly believed Akutsu would harm Dan, of course. In fact, as far as Sengoku knew, it would have taken quite some looking to find something Akutsu would have rather not done than hurt the boy. If such things even existed.

The main point being, well, it wouldn't really be hurting Dan even if Akutsu took him from Sengoku, now would it?

Nevertheless, Sengoku didn't protest. He'd just have to have faith in his boyfriend and the said boyfriend's promise. Dan had said he wouldn't leave Sengoku, not even for Akutsu. And he had to believe that promise to be true – after all, if he didn't trust his boyfriend in such a matter, who could he trust?

If only he'd been a bit more trusting a person…

* * *

Dan glared up at Akutsu. As he'd been on his way to meeting with Sengoku, he'd suddenly been pulled aside by a strong hand. Now he found himself looking at the one who had chosen to abduct him in such a manner. He did not appreciate this, not at all – which was exactly why Akutsu now found himself in the receiving end of a glare most people would have never dared to give to him.

"Oh, give it up," sighed Akutsu. "It's not like you can fucking scare me with that glare of yours. It's like a puppy trying to look strict."

"Explain, please desu." Dan's voice was cool. "What do you want with me, Akutsu-san?"

"An explanation. Well, that and you stopping this fucking avoidance." Akutsu growled deep in his throat, like a predator going in for the kill. Dan hardly seemed to even notice. "It's getting simply ridiculous. You know I'm not going to give up, so why insist on fucking going on?"

"I don't know what you mean desu." Oh, but Dan knew it very well. The truth could be read in the set of his shoulders, his jaw, in the tiniest flicker of his eyelids. Really, he was like an open book, sometimes. To the few people who knew how to read him, at least. Thankfully, Akutsu was one of them.

"You know all too fucking well what I mean," Akutsu said dryly. "Now, stop yapping, puppy, and tell me exactly why you went from practically stalking me to pretending you don't even know me well enough to greet me."

Pale though he was, Dan's expression was determined as he spoke. "Perhaps I just decided I've got enough of adoring someone so clearly not worthy of it. Now, would you please leave and let me be?"

Akutsu raised his eyebrows. Now, this wasn't like Dan at all. Avoiding him was one thing, telling him to leave was another. The former Dan was obviously capable of, but the latter, despite all the evidence…

"Who the fuck are you and what have you fucking done to Taichi?"

Once again, Dan glared at Akutsu as fiercely as he could, which was not very. He was not exactly the expert of glares here, after all. "I am myself," he replied, sullen. "If it shocks you that much that I don't want to follow you around anymore, well, you can just fuck off desu."

For a moment, Akutsu just stared at the younger boy with wide golden eyes. Then, he burst into laughter.

"Okay, kid, point one," he said once he had recovered from his amusement. "The desu is fucking cute, but if you want to swear, drop it the hell off. Point two, swearing doesn't suit you anyway, and I fucking doubt Sengoku wants to kiss such a dirty mouth. And point fucking three, don't tell me what to do, got it?"

"What does it concern you what Sengoku-senpai likes or doesn't like? You've made it rather clear that when it comes to me, you'd rather just take his damn place, yourself."

"Look. I understand swearing if you're angry, everyone fucking does that, but casual curses? Suit some people, but not fucking little saints like you. Just drop the habit." Akutsu smirked. "You always sound embarrassed about it, anyway." Then, Akutsu frowned, now more serious. "What does it concern me? Think, kid. It's obvious you're with Sengoku. And the idiot's more serious about you than he's ever been about anyone. If you're happy with that, I'm not about to interfere."

"Do you mean to imply I'm not happy, perhaps?" Dan raised an eyebrow in question. "Because I am."

"Really?" The word was hardly more than a deep rumble in Akutsu's chest, hardly a comprehensible word at all. Dan more felt than heard it as he was suddenly drawn close to Akutsu, strong hands holding him close, then starting to travel down his back.

Dan swallowed. He knew these hands, big and strong and sure, had watched them often enough to commit them to memory. Countless times he had thought of them, dreamed of them, of being touched by them. And now those dreams were coming true, those hands touching him, petting him, drawing him close. Strong fingers slid down his sides caressing, teasing…

Dan couldn't recall ever doing anything as difficult as it now was to push himself away. Nevertheless, he did so, stepping backwards to put some distance between himself and the taller boy. "Don't do that." His voice was hardly more than a whisper.

"Do what?" Akutsu raised his eyebrows. "Don't even try to tell me you don't want it."

Dan grimaced. Of course he wanted, had wanted for years, but it was too late now, wasn't it? He said as much. "It doesn't matter if I want you or not desu, anyway," he added quietly. "What matters is that I'm with Sengoku-senpai, not with you. And I'm not about to cheat on him."

"Ever the saint, aren't you?" Akutsu reached out a hand to brush a finger against his cheek. "…Then again, I guess that's one of the fucking reasons people like you."

"It's the very basic requirement for any steady relationship," Dan replied somewhat stiffly. "People have various preferences and views on such things, I know desu, but I still don't believe I could ever dedicate myself into a relationship that was not entirely faithful."

"Well, that's good." Akutsu turned on his heels, preparing to walk away. "And don't even think about avoiding me anymore, kid."

"Huh?" Dan blinked in surprise. Talk about abrupt. "You mean… that's it? You just leave after something like that?"

"What else should I do?" Akutsu glanced back over his shoulder. "You've made it pretty fucking clear you're going to neither leave Sengoku nor mess with anyone else on the side. Continuing to try to change your mind would only make sure not only you but also bloody Sengoku would start avoiding me – at the fucking best. I'm not that desperate, you know. I can wait. …Oh, and Sengoku's still waiting for you where you were supposed to meet."

For a moment Dan just stared at Akutsu's retreating back. Finally, he drew a deep breath, shouting out the words he'd wanted to say for a long while now. "See you tomorrow, Akutsu-senpai!"

Akutsu didn't respond, he never did, but Dan knew him well enough to recognize the nigh unnoticeable nod of head as the agreement it was.

* * *

"Practice paused. I know none of you can concentrate anyway."

Sengoku's announcement was hardly even noticed as everyone gathered around one of the courts. Matches between the regulars were always a cause for interest for everyone, and it'd been quite a while since they'd last seen Dan and Muromachi playing against each other. Shaking his head, the redhead made his way as close to the court to the possible, using smiles and buchou power and sharp elbows to reach the best spot to view the match.

"Ready, Dan-kun?" Muromachi smirked a bit as he looked at Dan.

"As I'll ever be, Muromachi-senpai." Dan smiled, tilting his head to the side. "Do your worst desu!"

"As you wish." Muromachi got ready to serve. "I'm not going to go easy on you!"

After a brief smile at Sengoku, Dan forgot everything outside the court, as was far too usual. When he was playing against a skilled opponent, he often focused so completely on the match he even forgot to keep track of the score, and Muromachi, Singles One, was the most skilled player Yamabuki had to offer – the most skilled player who actually played, anyway. Smiling at the thrill of the challenge, Dan returned the serve.

For some time they rallied, both keeping a close eye on the other for the slightest sign of faltering and finding none. Dan went over data in his mind, data of both Muromachi and the various techniques that might work against him. Cataloguing every sign and gesture inside his mind, he did his best to match Muromachi's movements, trying to predict the direction of each shot as early as possible.

Muromachi cocked his head to the side. Dan did the same.

As the match progressed, they were soon tied at two games each. Shifting his weight from one foot to another, Dan smirked a bit just as Muromachi did the same, almost unconsciously mirroring his opponent's expression as he tried to figure out where the next shot was going to be directed. The most logical direction was right, all his data pointed to that, so if he just –

Except that Muromachi was going to hit the ball to the left.

Dan didn't know how he knew that, exactly. It wasn't the usual tennis instincts, warning him where the opponent was about to move, but something else that he couldn't identify properly. Nevertheless, he couldn't ponder on it much further at the moment. He had to act or he'd lose.

Reaching to the left, he found the ball coming right towards him. Hitting it back, he grinned a bit at Muromachi's baffled expression.

"…Okay. What were the chances for that?" asked the fuku-buchou, returning the shot.

"Incredibly low, actually." Dan dragged his racquet a bit, hitting a perfect Moon Volley as the ball came closer. "I was just about to go to right when I realized you'd hit left."

"So you decided to move there?" Muromachi reached the ball just in time, eyeing him carefully. Now to figure out which way Dan would move… "How did you know such a thing, anyway?"

Except he moved exactly to the direction Muromachi hadn't expected him to. "Not entirely sure," Dan replied, returning the shot. "But it sure works desu."

"So it would seem," muttered Muromachi as the game went on. "Whenever I think I know where you are going, you go to the other side. It's getting somewhat unsettling."

"So sorry desu," Dan said with a smirk, once again reaching a shot he wasn't supposed to. "I do apologize for messing with your instincts." If that was what it was, anyway. The few times Muromachi actually pinpointed these strange occurrences, there was nothing wrong with Muromachi's instincts – he knew exactly where Dan would have moved based on all his data and experience. Too bad it was those times that Dan decided to move against his logic – and was right to do so.

In the end, Dan wasn't entirely surprised to win the match. As they shook hands over the net, he grinned at the fuku-buchou. "I really am sorry, Muromachi-senpai," he assured. "It's like… like I could tell where your instinct was telling you to aim."

"So that's what it was!" Sengoku's voice startled them both. "I kept watching you and wondering what was going on… but that's the logical explanation, isn't it?"

"What is?" Muromachi raised his eyebrows at the buchou. "That Dan-kun managed to tap into my instincts?"

"Exactly." Sengoku grinned brightly. "You did notice how he kept mimicking your gestures, right? It helps you get on the same wavelength with another person if you mimic them. And, well, the Puppy Dog Serve is all about getting on the wavelength of the opponent's instincts. Right, Taichiichi?"

"Sounds almost logical," Dan said with a shrug. "I'll have to analyze it further, though. For all I know, it was just a freak occurrence."

"But if it wasn't, you might have discovered a fairly powerful technique." Muromachi nodded approvingly. "Next time we play, I guess I'll have to look out."

"What, you didn't need to do that now?" Dan pouted playfully. "Mean desu!"

"Oh, you know, Dan-kun." Muromachi smirked a bit. "Why look out for someone who's stupid enough to go out with Sengoku-buchou?"

The two both laughed, and Sengoku found himself joining in, if only because the sight of Dan laughing made him glad enough to ignore the teasing. 


	13. Meetings

Disclaimer: I own very little.

A/N: No plot, no point -- just a bit of happiness because these boys need it if anyone. x.x

* * *

Nothing in Tennis

_"Love means nothing in tennis, but in life, it is everything."_

_- Anonymous_

Chapter 12  
Meetings

Sengoku glanced around, obviously satisfied with what he saw. The whole team was there, in time even, or at least as close to that as humanly possible for their team. "What's the schedule for the day, Taichiichi?"

"We have a match in the evening against Rokkaku desu. Until then, there's nothing."

"What?" Kita asked. "You mean we came here so early even though we didn't have to?"

"We did have to," Muromachi sighed. "Everyone has to be present when signing up the team, and that had to be done before 10 AM. So, stop whining. It's not like you had to get up in the middle of night, anyway."

"Muromachi-fuku-buchou is right," Dan said cheerfully. "Why don't you just enjoy your free time while you still can? In the evening, you'll be far busy to do so desu."

"And what do you suggest we do with our free time?" Nitobe raised his eyebrows. "Shall we gather data for you, or?"

"Like I would trust you to do that desu." Dan smiled teasingly. "It's the Kantou tournament, ne? There's bound to be some matches you'd like to see. Well, matches or players desu…"

"No need to be mean, Taichiichi." Sengoku grinned, ruffling his boyfriend's hair. "But the kid is right," he then said to the others. "If you can't find anything interesting around here, I wonder why you're in the team." With a wink, he added, "If nothing else, think of all the well-muscled men sweating in their tiny shorts on the courts…"

"Stop while you're still ahead, Sengoku," Minami sighed. "Some of us have boyfriends, you know."

Sengoku blinked. "I have one, too."

"Well, let me elaborate." Minami shook his head. "Some of us have boyfriends who aren't currently planning to make us miserable."

"Hm?" Sengoku turned to look at Dan. "Are you planning to – oi!" Dan was currently rather swiftly walking away from him, caring little for his calls.

Laughing at their captain's little problem, the team started spreading around. Only Muromachi remained, looking at him. "Is he really that angry at you?"

"Taichiichi? I doubt it." Sengoku rolled his eyes. "He knows how I am; if a little comment like that made him really mad, he'd have left me ten times over already." With a grin, he then threw an arm over his fuku-buchou's shoulders. "So! Shall we go and see if we can find our opponents of the day?"

Soon enough they did find Rokkaku, or at least some of them – their high school had continued the tradition of red uniforms, making them fairly easy to spot even in the crowd of teams and other audience surrounding the courts. The two they did see were Saeki and Aoi-kun, which was rather delighting. With an enthusiastic wave, Sengoku shouted out to them. "Oi! Beach bums! Ready to lose, hmmm?"

"Confident as ever, I see." Saeki smiled at them. Given Sengoku's easy-going nature and the general attitude around Rokkaku, some kind of friendship between them had been inevitable before long – especially given how they were two of the very few not-absolutely-gay tennis boys around. "I'll warn you, though, we're better than last year."

"Then you're losing, since we're far better than last year." Sengoku grinned. Your team's disappeared, too, I see."

"Well, yeah – we don't have a match until in the afternoon with you." Saeki smiled. "So it's just Aoi-kun and I, for now. Someone has to keep an eye on him, you see, and the coach saddled me with the task." He nodded towards the middle-aged man nearby. Younger than Ojii, at least, Sengoku found himself thinking.

"Very funny. You're just hanging around to make sure I don't charm all the ladies around here." The youngest boy grinned first at Saeki, then at Sengoku and Muromachi. "Huh?" Aoi suddenly glanced around. "Where's your coach?"

"Hanamoto-sensei?" Sengoku rolled his eyes. "Oh, who knows? Haven't seen him in a week or two; he rarely bothers to show up. We're certainly doing well enough without."

"Isn't that quite difficult?" Saeki asked, raising his eyebrows. "Playing without a coach, that is?"

"Fudoumine did well enough, don't you think?" Muromachi replied. "Besides, at least he doesn't hit us with porn magazines like Banji used to."

"He did what?" Aoi looked somewhat amused. "Wow. No wonder you Yamabuki guys are so weird."

"Hey!" exclaimed Sengoku. "I resent that comment!"

"Right," Muromachi added. "We're weird by nature, not because of our coaches or lack thereof."

Sengoku glared at his fuku-buchou. "You're not exactly helping here, Panda-kun."

"Oh, I know." Muromachi sounded fairly cheerful about this fact.

"See?" Sengoku sighed dramatically. "This is what I have to live with! If I am a bit weird, don't you think it's quite inevitable, seeing what my team is like?"

During this banter Aoi wandered off, looking for something more interesting – like a pretty girl or two. He'd have to ask Sengoku to accompany him later, he decided; though he didn't know the Yamabuki captain well, Sengoku and Saeki had mostly befriended each other during high school, Sengoku's fame as one of the straightest tennis guys was rather wide-spread.

Before he managed to spot more than a couple of skirts, though, he heard a bright voice greeting him.

"Hello, Aoi-kun!" Dan Taichi was waving at him cheerfully. "Long time no see desu!"

"Well, hi there, fellow former buchou!" Aoi's grin then turned into a somewhat thoughtful expression. "Or would that be former fellow buchou? Aah, that's so confusing!"

Dan laughed as he approached. "I think either is fine, considering neither of us is a buchou anymore," he said. "Or is my data on you entirely wrong?"

"Nah." Aoi grimaced playfully. "The new coach isn't as nice as Ojii was. But, ah well! Less responsibility for me!"

"That's one way to look at it, I guess desu." Dan grinned. "You've been well, I trust?"

"Just splendid, really, even recovered from the beating my ego took as you beat me." The taller boy sighed dramatically. "Really, such pain! I couldn't get a date for a week!"

"And you suffered incredibly much, I'm sure."

"Of course! You wouldn't understand the pain, Dan-kun, not with your lack of interest in romance. A pity, though. If only I were interested in boys, I'd immediately ask you for a date."

Now, a slight blush spread over Dan's cheeks. "Ah, that is… you'd be kind of late for that," he said somewhat sheepishly. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I do have enough interest that I'm currently dating."

"Really?" Aoi's eyes widened, as did his grin. "Oooh, this is remarkable! And who is the lucky guy, hmm?" Judging by Aoi's voice, there was never any doubt about whether Dan had a girlfriend or a boyfriend. Dan didn't mind, seeing as there never had been, not for him at least.

"I think I spotted you talking with him just a moment ago," he replied with a grin. "He's even trying his best to cut down on the flirting, can you imagine?"

"Err – wait. Wait just a minute." Aoi shook his head. "You're saying… you're dating Sengoku-kun?"

Dan nodded.

"Sengoku Kiyosumi? The most renowned skirt-chaser the world of middle school tennis ever knew?"

Dan nodded again.

"…Are you sure you aren't just dreaming or something?"

This time, Dan laughed instead of nodding. "Oh, don't look like that, Aoi-kun desu. Sengoku-buchou has come to the realization that he is, actually, bisexual. And before you can ask, yes, he apparently can act monogamous enough not to go beyond flirting with others desu."

"Nuh-uh." Again, Aoi shook his head as though to clear it. "I'm not about to believe this. Sengoku Kiyosumi dating a boy? Maybe once in a blue moon, but in real life? Nooo way."

"Ah, here you are, Taichiichi!" A cheerful voice was the only warning Dan got before a pair of arms was wrapped around him. Then, Sengoku looked at Aoi, surprised. "Huh? You two know each other?" After all, there hadn't been much contact between their teams in middle school, and the two were both first years…

"Sure we do!" Aoi replied happily. "We were both captains last year, and then Dan-kun beat me. Both of our teams got to the Nationals, though, so we decided we could just as well celebrate it together. Echizen-kun's Seigaku happened to come to the same restaurant, too. And then Urayama-kun's Rikkai showed up… We had so much fun!"

"Echizen-kun didn't seem to agree," snickered Dan. "He seems to sometimes be far too serious for his own good, really."

"Seigaku's captains tend to be like that, I've come to notice." Sengoku grinned. "Ah, well – it's nice to see Taichiichi has at least one friend who won't be trying to take him from me!"

Now, though, the older of the first-years blinked in surprise. "So the two of you really are dating?" As Sengoku nodded in confirmation, Aoi grimaced. "Oh, what a pity. And here I was thinking you'd join me in checking out some girls. There seem to be quite a few watching the matches."

"Oh, I can still do that," Sengoku replied cheerfully. "Can't I, Taichiichi?"

Dan raised an eyebrow, looking at Sengoku over his shoulder. "As long as you behave yourself," he replied. "Checking out girls is one thing, actually making moves on them is another desu."

"Lucky!" Sengoku spun Dan around, pressing a kiss on his surprised boyfriend's lips. "Don't worry, Taichiichi. I'll behave. Promise."

"You'd better." Dan poked his nose gently. "I'll have Aoi-kun report back to me about your behaviour. And don't forget we have matches in the evening, both of you desu." Turning towards Aoi, he added, "You'll make sure Sengoku-buchou doesn't try to go further than looking, won't you, Aoi-kun?"

"Understood, Dan-kun." Aoi winked. "You sure you don't want to join us to keep an eye on him yourself?"

"What, and be mistaken for straight? Not a chance. I'd get kicked out of the Cute Tennis Ukes Association desu."

"Huh?" Now, the taller first-year blinked in surprise. "There is such a thing?"

Dan grinned. "No, there isn't. But you apparently would believe so desu." With this, he cheerfully waved as the two other boys walked away.

"That's strange," Muromachi commented as they were out of Dan's hearing. "You'd think he wouldn't like you looking at girls."

"Well, two facts here," Sengoku said cheerfully. "For one thing, girls are female, Taichiichi is male. He knows he definitely has something they don't. If I went looking for cute guys, he probably would protest. And for another thing… if he didn't let me look at girls, I would have every right to be jealous for the fact he's most definitely going to spend his morning staring at other guys. Even if it is just to gather data."

"You may have a point there." Aoi grinned. "So, he can't complain if – ooh, look at that!" He pointed at a girl walking past, her skirt just barely long enough to hide her underwear. "Good legs on that one!"

"I have to agree," Sengoku muttered with an appreciative tone. "Though Taichiichi's are still better…"

Aoi rolled his eyes. "I don't know if you're in love or if you're afraid of his spying skills, but…"

"Heh, very funny." Sengoku stuck his tongue out at Aoi. "For your information, Taichiichi wouldn't bother following me around all day when there's so much tennis data to be gathered. I've just been lucky enough to get the cutest boyfriend ever."

"Fine. Hopelessly in love." Aoi stuck his tongue out. "Ah, well. More women for me."

"You just don't know what you're missing out on."

"What, lack of boobs? Balls and racquets is all the homosexual symbolism I need in my life." Aoi laughed.

Sengoku grinned. "Let's see if you're still saying that when we've beaten you."

* * *

"Sorry, Aoi-kun." Dan grinned as they eyed each other over the net. "I guess it'd be your turn to win, but I can't let you do that so easily desu."

"Wouldn't want you to let me," Aoi replied with a similar grin. "That wouldn't make a good impression on the girls, now would it?"

"I wouldn't lose any games on purpose if I were you," Dan pointed out cheerfully. "Didn't exactly work out for you the last time, now did it?"

"Don't remind me of that," Aoi said, throwing the ball in the air. "I'll have you know that was the biggest difference anyone has ever won me by!"

"Your fault for being so predictable desu" Dan returned the shot. "One might think you'd have changed your ways since middle school, but no…"

"You're one to talk," Aoi replied, hitting the ball in turn. "Still as cute as ever"

This only made Dan laugh. "Flirting only works if you aren't straight, you know desu," he pointed out.

"…Well, damn. Guess you're right."

After this, they fell mostly silent, rallying back and forth, their rhythm occasionally broken by one of them scoring. The match was fairly even-paced, neither gaining a clear advantage. However, despite being obviously pressed to work for each point he got, Dan was yet to start his data mumbles.

Instead, his playing style was starting to look somewhat different.

Sengoku grinned as he realized what his little boyfriend was doing. It was somewhat daring, using an uncertain method in such an even match, but then he did have his Puppy Dog Serve to secure his own service games…

The first time he saw Aoi looking baffled as Dan was suddenly exactly where he had hit the shot, Sengoku couldn't help but cheer.

From then on, the match was Dan's. His new move failed a few times, Sengoku could tell by his expression sometimes, but it worked often enough that he managed to break Aoi's service game a few times. And, indeed, by the end of the match Dan gave Aoi an almost apologetic smile as the winner was announced.

"Game, set, and match, won by Yamabuki High's Dan Taichi!"

"Damn. No dates for two weeks," Aoi moaned as they shook hands over the net. "What on Earth was that, anyway? Telepathy?"

"Sadly, no, useful though that would be for gathering data desu," Dan laughed. "I'm yet to name the move, I'm afraid – this is the first time I ever used it successfully outside practice."

"So you were just using me to test your move, eh?" Aoi sighed. "Ah, well. I guess I will forgive you, given how cute you are."

Dan blinked. "Hey. You're supposed to be straight, remember?"

"Oh, I never told you, did I?" As Dan blinked in confusion, Aoi grinned. "Until I first heard your name announced in a match, I thought Yamabuki allowed girls into their boys' team, too."

"Why, you –" Aoi was truly lucky it would have been unsportsmanlike to hit him with a racquet right there.


	14. Before and After

Disclaimer: I own very little.

* * *

Nothing in Tennis

_"Love means nothing in tennis, but in life, it is everything."_

_- Anonymous_

Chapter 13  
Before And After

As Sengoku arrived to the clubroom, Dan was already there, wearing his tennis uniform and studying his data. Walking to stand behind him, Sengoku said, "Taichiichi." He pressed a kiss on his boyfriend's neck from behind. "Why so serious a look?"

"No reason, really." Dan shrugged a bit, frowning down at his notebook. "Well, except that I'm trying to figure something out desu..."

"Oh?" Draping an arm around Dan's shoulder, Sengoku leant down to take a look at the notebook, only to frown as he understood hardly anything. "What's the problem?"

"Me." Dan sounded perfectly serious. "…Well, rather my tennis. I can't keep playing like this."

"What do you mean?" Sengoku blinked. "You're a very good player, Taichiichi!"

"Not good enough." Dan sighed, pointing at some graphs that made absolutely no sense to Sengoku but were apparently meaningful to him. "I can mostly keep my serves, but I need to work something out for returns… And work on perfecting that new technique desu. It's far too unreliable yet."

"Aw, poor, poor dear." Sengoku kissed Dan's cheek, now. "Little Taichiichi only has an unreturnable serve, he's so lost…"

"It's not unreturnable, just very hard to return," Dan replied dryly. "As you should well know."

"Mm-hmm." Sengoku hugged Dan, only to notice how his boyfriend flinched at the touch. Frowning, he asked, "Bruises?"

"…Yeah desu." Dan looked away. "I – I'm sorry desu…"

"Don't be, Taichiichi." Nuzzling the blue hair carefully, Sengoku said, "I wish I could do something to help…"

"As do I desu." Dan sighed. then, after a short pause, he added, "My sister will be staying over at a friend's tonight. A birthday sleepover party desu."

"So she doesn't need you today." Sengoku nodded gravely. "…Want to come stay over?"

Dan's voice sounded very quiet as he leant back against Sengoku's chest. "…Please desu…"

"Like I would say no." Sengoku chuckled slightly. "Hey, let's hit the street courts after school, okay? Data and all, ne?"

"…I'd love to." For a moment, Dan actually smiled properly, and Sengoku instantly felt a lot better. Now, that was how it should be.

Even if there were bruises.

* * *

"Oooh, look, Sengoku-senpai!" Dan tugged at his arm, pointing towards the courts. "It's Seigaku's Kaidou-san! And Toriyama High's Amane-san!"

"Amane?" Sengoku looked to the direction Dan was pointing at and saw a curly-haired man with an exceptionally long racquet. "Oh, him. Didn't he used to be in Rokkaku?"

"Yeah desu! But his family moved to Tokyo after he was done with middle school and now he's in Toriyama." Dan was practically beaming. "Let's watch them play for a bit, ne, ne?"

Like Sengoku could have resisted such a request! Thus they stayed on the stands, watching Kaidou and Amane practically crush the two kids they were playing against. Sengoku couldn't help but notice that instead of the middle school students the courts had used to be full of, the players were now a fairly equal mix of both middle school and high school kids. Probably the old regulars had continued playing despite growing older.

The game ended with some strange special shot, one Sengoku hadn't seen before. Apparently Dan hadn't, either, given the way he gasped and immediately reached for his notebook. Seeing the pair leaving the court despite their clear victory, Kaidou going to get his water bottle while Amane talked with the younger kids gathered around the courts, Dan then hurried towards the Seigaku player, Sengoku following him.

"Congratulations for your victory! That special shot was amazing!" Dan said enthusiastically, his eyes shining. "Can you do it again? Please desu?"

"Don't be an idiot," Kaidou spat, glaring at Dan. "As though we were stupid enough to show our special moves to a data player."

For a moment, Dan seemed somewhat stunned. Then, however, a big grin spread onto his face. "Thank you so much, Kaidou-san desu!" he said happily, before turning around and hurrying towards Amane, doubtlessly to bombard him with questions.

The Seigaku player seemed startled at this surprising reaction. "What's wrong with him?" he asked from Sengoku.

"Oh, nothing wrong," Sengoku said, smiling. "I think he's just pleased that someone from the infamous Inui's Seigaku actually considers him a data player."

"Well, he is," Kaidou said, sounding somewhat confused. "Perhaps not as accurate as Inui-senpai, but he does calculate things."

"There, see?" Sengoku grinned. "Just a few years ago people thought it was a joke when he tried to collect data. If someone who's used to Inui considers him a data player, it's as good as an official statement. Inui is widely regarded as the master of that art, after all."

Kaidou hissed. "Data players are weird," he concluded. "You never know what goes through their heads."

"Most of the time, nope," Sengoku agreed cheerfully. "And that's exactly where their charm is."

"…I'll just take your word on that."

* * *

There were few things that felt better than winning a match. Spending time with your boyfriend afterwards, going over the success, did come quite close, though.

"That was really a great match, even if the next one was rescheduled," Sengoku said, grinning at Dan. "And can you believe it, Taichiichi? We're going to the Nationals for sure, now!"

"Yeah desu!" Dan was wearing a grin of his own, sitting on Sengoku's bed next to the other boy. "I hope we get to the finals, too, but semi-finals is an achievement in itself."

"You bet." Sengoku's grin turned somewhat sly. "You know," he said, scooting a bit closer to Dan, "I think this calls for some celebration, Taichiichi."

The tiny flush that spread over Dan's cheeks was definitely more out of enthusiasm than embarrassment. "I agree desu," the boy said softly before promptly flopping himself down in Sengoku's lap, facing the other boy.

"Great to know we're on the same page." Settling his hands on Dan's waist, Sengoku murmured one final, "Lucky," before diving in for a kiss.

Dan's mouth was warm and sweet as usual, the boy's tongue putting up quite a fight for a change. As though straddling his lap wasn't enough, Dan wrapped his legs around Sengoku, pulling himself even closer to the older boy. Sengoku most certainly did not protest.

They broke apart for air, looking at each other with dazed eyes. "You know," Sengoku said, "my parents and sister won't be home for hours."

A little grin spread over Dan's face, one that was unlike anything Sengoku had ever seen from his boyfriend. There was a certain amount of slyness to it, along with an overwhelming lot of innocence in his bright brown eyes, making Sengoku feel like a pervert for even contemplating anything further than kissing.

Ah, well. Dan was a big boy already. Better he learnt these things from someone he loved and trusted and not some bastard who just used the kid on his advantage.

Pressing little kisses over the other boy's jaw line, Sengoku slid his lips down to Dan's neck. The other's t-shirt was just a bit too large, slipping to the side to reveal more of one shoulder than the other, exposing smooth skin for his advances.

"Sengoku-senpai?" murmured Dan, his lips almost brushing against Sengoku's ear. The warm breath on his skin made the older boy shiver slightly.

"Mmm?" This was not the moment for words, decided Sengoku. Not when he had his mouth on Dan's skin, not when the boy was pressed against him just so…

A hand slid down his side, slowing down as it got further, finally coming to a halt with the fingertips pushed just barely under his waistband. "Do you now believe I know what I'm getting myself into?" asked a falsely innocent voice.

Sengoku paused in his task of marking Dan's shoulder. Then, in a flash, he abandoned the slim shoulder and attacked Dan's lips again instead. It wasn't like he'd ever been accused of being too hesitant when it came to sex, after all – not when the circumstances were relatively normal, with no crying and fear and wishes to forget.

Dan whimpered into his mouth, shifting in his lap, uncomfortably close to where Sengoku's erection was enclosed within his pants. And then there was a small hand, somewhat hesitant but not afraid, pressing against the denim over his groin. Dan didn't seem too shocked at what he found there, smiling against Sengoku's lips before parting his own, allowing the older boy's tongue to slip inside.

Sengoku found his own hand reaching down, too, cupping the tight little behind to draw Dan even closer. He tried not to think how long he had wanted this, it was not the time for such thoughts, not now when Dan's hands were busy struggling with the button of his pants and he was exploring the younger boy's mouth with more intensity than ever before, if at all possible. It was not the time to remember the time before, the time he had been so close to giving in, to hurting Dan in ways he never wanted to.

"Seems like you won't object this time desu." Dan's voice was hardly more than a murmur as he leant towards Sengoku again.

"Hey, I would have stopped you otherwise, now wouldn't I?" Sengoku let his fingers wander under Dan's t-shirt. "I'm quite confident you aren't scared out of your mind or desperate to forget something traumatic right now."

"You'd be right with that assumption." Dan smiled against Sengoku's lips, his arms wrapping themselves around the older boy. Sliding his hand further under the other's t-shirt, Sengoku responded to the kiss even more enthusiastically than before.

He shouldn't move too fast, he knew, but they were both teenage boys and had been dating for a long time already, especially by Sengoku's standards. Surely this wasn't too fast, anymore? Dan definitely didn't seem to protest as he brought his other hand to Dan's chest, feeling for nipples through the other's t-shirt. The tiny moan he got in response to his actions, in fact, could be counted as an agreement without much of a stretch of imagination.

Oh, Dan was definitely not a child, Sengoku noticed soon. Inexperienced, surely, and somewhat hesitant, but anything but childish as his hands roamed over Sengoku's chest and arms in response to the older boy's actions. While Dan's body was somewhat skinny still, it was also nicely muscled, firm and warm under Sengoku's expert hands. The thighs pressed against him were strong, as was only to be expected of a tennis player, leading to a flat belly and a chest that was already starting to show some signs of maturity. Small Dan may have been, but small didn't necessarily mean undeveloped.

In the end, it was Dan who first tugged at his boyfriend's boxers. Sengoku might have been surprised at this boldness had he not been too lost in the moment. As it was, he simply went along with the flow, though he was somewhat faster in relieving his boyfriend of his clothes than Dan of his.

As he afterwards pressed a very satisfied kiss on Dan's lips, Sengoku decided that he should find causes for celebration more often.

* * *

Never known for their discipline, perhaps, the Yamabuki team was even more buzzy than usual. However, as their buchou clapped his hands to get their attention, they actually fell silent for a moment.

"Okay, tomorrow we'll be facing Hyoutei," Sengoku said enthusiastically. "It's the semi-finals, guys, so we'd all better take it seriously! Rikkai and Seigaku will amuse each other for the time being, lucky for us, but to win the victor there we have to deal with Hyoutei first." He looked at them all, one by one. "Any complaints to us using our standard line-up for this round as well? Speak up now, or forever hold your peace!"

"Ah, Sengoku-buchou," Dan said, sounding somewhat nervous. "I think it'd be better if you played Singles Two on this round instead of me."

"Why so?" Sengoku asked. "I thought we'd already solved this argument, Taichiichi." Nevertheless, he was obviously ready to listen – the ones he usually consulted about the line-up were not only his fuku-buchou but also the little data gatherer, after all.

"This is another matter entirely." Dan looked at him seriously, like he was always serious when it came to tennis. "All evidence points towards Kabaji-san being Hyoutei's Singles Two on this round desu. He's probably the strongest high school tennis player in the whole Tokyo. You are the only one in our team with any hope of returning his strongest shots desu."

"But if you use your serve, you won't lose," Sengoku pointed out. "Strong shots tend to eat stamina, and he'll tire out – and besides, not all shots are equally strong. You don't need to return all of his shots, after all, just enough to break his serve once. And you can do that, especially with emulation."

"But there's another problem desu. You see, aside from being really big and strong, Kabaji-san is also one of the best copy players around, if not the best. If he as much as sees a technique, he can copy it perfectly desu. The amount of repeats required for me to win the match would definitely be enough for him to copy both my serve and emulation – and if he gained those, I'd likely lose. Is that really what you want?"

Sengoku didn't have to think twice. A Hyoutei player with two of Dan's strongest weapons? As though the rich bastards didn't have enough special shots of their own. "…Fine. But you'd better win in Singles Three."

"You know, usually people are concerned about potential loss if they have to face an opponent more difficult than usually." Kita looked at his partner.

"I think Sengoku-buchou is merely trying to look like he's not giving in too easily." Nitobe nodded in agreement with Kita. "Totally whipped, isn't he?"

"Do you two absolutely want laps?" Sengoku sighed. What wouldn't he give for a nice, quiet, skilled but practically unnoticeable doubles pair… Well, another one, that was.

"Really, now, Sengoku-buchou." Dan pouted. "I thought their observations were rather accurate desu"

"Even you, Taichiichi?" Sengoku moaned. "I have no support here…"

"You're the captain, so you have to take a certain amount of crap without complaints," Nitobe said. "It's on the job description."

"It's not." Sengoku gave him a flat stare.

"Ano, actually…" Dan smiled innocently. "Did you ever actually read the tennis club rules? There is indeed a clause stating exactly that…"

With a sigh, Sengoku turned to look at Minami. "Kenta? Is it too late to switch back?"

"Yes, it is." Minami smiled almost apologetically. "I did warn you. Yamabuki captains are never as worshipped as those of other teams."

"Now, we'll just have to figure out whether the problem lies with the team or the captains." Kita looked at Nitobe.

"Indeed, indeed. Most peculiar question, that." Nitobe nodded in agreement. "Or maybe there isn't any question at all…"

"…Dismissed. Or whatever I have to do to get you out of my sight."


	15. Victory and Defeat

Disclaimer: I own very little.

* * *

Nothing in Tennis

_"Love means nothing in tennis, but in life, it is everything."_

_- Anonymous_

Chapter 14

Victory and Defeat

"…Yamabuki High, am I right?"

Dan looked up from his notebook. "Huh?" Seeing the person addressing him, he bounced up to his feet, somewhat flustered. "Ah, Atobe-san!"

"Good to know I've made an impression." The captain of Hyoutei's tennis team – sixth year in a row, counting both middle school and high school – smirked at him. "So, am I right in my assumption? You are with Yamabuki?"

"Um, yes desu!" Dan bowed hastily. "I'm one of Yamabuki's regulars, Dan Taichi desu!"

"Dan Taichi, is it? You played against Hiyoshi a couple of years ago, if I recall right." Atobe's smirk signalled that he usually did recall right. "You… won, didn't you? Kantou tournament, Singles One?"

"I'm afraid so desu," Dan said with a timid smile. "I was usually Singles Two around that time, but Muromachi-buchou had gotten injured, so I had to take his place."

"Never apologize for winning, child. You taught Hiyoshi a very valuable lesson at that time." Atobe smirked. "To look down on someone merely because of their appearance is a mistake no master should make. But then," he added, "Hiyoshi is hardly a master."

"You are too harsh on your players, Atobe-san desu." Dan smiled some more. "Hiyoshi-san was quite a skilled opponent desu"

"Whatever you say." Atobe inclined his head. "Be warned, though, that this year your victory won't be quite as simple. High school is quite different from middle school, as I'm sure you'll come to notice."

"Oh, I've noticed that already," Dan said with a little smile. "But then, Hyoutei is always spectacular! I'll look forward to playing against you desu"

"Good boy." Atobe's tone was not far from that one used when talking to an eager puppy. "Don't disappoint me, now. I wish for a proper game."

Atobe did get his wish, perhaps too much so for Yamabuki. After a barely lost Doubles 2, a relatively easy win in Doubles 1, and another victory in Singles 3, Kabaji's strength and Atobe's skill took the victory in the other two singles. Trying to hide his disappointment, Sengoku concentrated on teasing Dan.

"You planned this," Sengoku accused afterwards, glaring at his slightly smiling boyfriend. "You knew Kabaji would beat me."

"Oh, that's true, Sengoku-senpai," Dan said all too cheerfully. "I would make us lose simply for the chance to see you get beaten. You've got me desu."

"Silly." Sengoku kissed the top of his head. "Good thing you won, at least. I'd have made you run laps otherwise."

"I just got lucky desu," Dan said with a smile. "His injury from last winter obviously hadn't healed properly desu. I feel kind of bad winning like that, but, well, he was the one who chose to play desu…"

"Indeed." Sengoku smirked. "And will probably get hell from his captain afterwards. Unlucky." Then, with a frown, he added, "Oi, Taichiichi? You'll make sure nobody plays while injured, right?"

Dan rolled his eyes. "Like you can't do it well enough by yourself," he said. "But yes, I do always keep an eye on everyone. We wouldn't want an opposite repeat of that fiasco with Fudoumine, now would we?"

"You still remember that?" Sengoku grinned somewhat embarrassedly. "I have to admit, that is hardly my favourite memory from middle school."

"I'd imagine desu." Chuckling, Dan then glanced towards where the last of Hyoutei players lingered. "…I almost hope we go against them in Nationals again, just so we can beat them this time desu."

"Oh, feeling vengeful?" Sengoku ruffled the blue hair. "You've spent too much time around Akutsu."

"Nah. I just don't like seeing my buchou and fuku-buchou being humiliated like that, even if it was their own fault desu." Dan dodged the half-hearted swat. "Anyway! We can't relax just yet. There's still the match for third place desu!"

"Against Rikkai, right?" Sengoku raised his eyebrows. "What are our chances there?"

"Pretty good, actually." Dan shrugged. "After Yukimura-san's relapse, they just haven't been the same… Especially since they lost some of their players to other high schools. Good enough to make it to the semi-finals, but considering the ease with which Seigaku beat them, I'd say we have a pretty good chance desu."

"I'll take your word for that." Sengoku grinned. "So, let's go for the third place, eh?"

"Sounds like a plan desu"

A plan which, as it turned out, they carried out quite nicely.

* * *

Practice had ended an hour ago. General practice, that is. However, most of the Yamabuki regulars were still doing some form of training in preparation for the Nationals – even if it was only doing sit-ups while watching the TV. Dan, for his part, was on the singles part of the street courts, using the opportunity of having several different opponents to hone his special moves.

There was no way he could manage full emulation in only one game, of course, against a person he knew nothing about. However, after enough strangers of one game, after enough repeats and new attempts and failures, he sometimes managed to figure out where to move to surprise his opponent, even if it was only for half a second. The lack of data might have been helping, in a way – it was easier to cast away logic when he didn't have too much of it to go by. Immensely enjoying the confused looks on his opponents' faces on those few moments, Dan continued playing, shamelessly making use of his superior experience against the mostly middle school aged opponents.

Until, that was, someone very familiar arrived to the side of the court.

"Oi," Akutsu said, glaring at Dan's current opponent. "Get lost."

"What?" snapped the opponent in question, one who obviously wasn't all too sharp – most people would have never even thought of protesting when someone like Akutsu told them to move. "We're just in the middle of a game –"

"Not anymore," Akutsu interrupted, walking right into the court and glaring down at the poor boy. "I said, get lost. I'm playing now."

Much though he disapproved of such manners, Dan couldn't help but feel a bit excited. Akutsu was carrying a racquet, a tennis racquet, and though he'd at one time said he wouldn't play again here he was, with a racquet and everything, and saying he would play – play against Dan –

A lot had changed in Dan in the last three years. The one thing that would not change, though, was his admiration of Akutsu's strength and skills.

It became soon all too apparent, though, that Akutsu hadn't played tennis in years. While he still had his far superior strength and flexibility, his skills weren't quite up to their former level – and Dan had improved quite a bit over the years. It was an even game, but luck was on Dan's side, and as the game ended nobody dared to tell Akutsu to step down as he simply glared around and got ready to serve.

It was easy, oh so easy, to mimic Akutsu's every tiny gesture and movement after so much gathered data on him, and suddenly Dan was no more working on data at all, merely figuring out where Akutsu expected him to go and didn't go there. To Akutsu's credit it had to be said he figured out the trick pretty soon, and started using strength and tricky spins instead of simply trying to strike the ball away from Dan, striving to make it impossible for him to return the shots even if he reached them. For some time Akutsu had the upper hand with this, until Dan proved he wasn't quite exhausted enough even after the several opponents he'd played before Akutsu, and even if he'd never have the strength to match at least he'd mastered the various spins.

It wasn't until now, though, that Akutsu really started to play. Making full use of his superior skills, he started using the technique that had for a good long while worked on Echizen – changing the shot's direction on the last moment as he saw where Dan was headed. Dan was close to crying out in frustration as his emulation was thus made useless, but continued playing nevertheless.

They were several games in as they finally ended their match, upon mutual agreement rather than rules, the few frustrated voices from the onlookers hushed by the others who had been watching their match quite intensely. Grinning, Dan walked up to the net, shaking Akutsu's hand. "It was a good match desu"

"Che, damn kid." Akutsu shook his head. "How long did it take you to learn the step?"

"Much longer than I'd have liked desu." Dan made a face. "I really envy Echizen-kun sometimes, being practically raised to tennis…"

"Must have been pretty boring upbringing," Akutsu huffed, rolling his eyes as they finally walked off the court. "Some loving old man, dumping his own dreams on the kid."

"And yet I think Echizen-kun came out the luckiest in that regard, out of the three of us." Dan's voice was quiet, making Akutsu cast him a sharp glance. "Ne, Akutsu-senpai?"

"…Che. Fucking brat." Akutsu swatted Dan's head lightly, not quite lightly enough to be a pat but still not hard enough to hurt. "Come on. I'll buy you a soda, or something."

Dan's eyes widened. "You don't have to, Akutsu-senpai!"

"I know I don't fucking have to." Akutsu glared at Dan in his usual "do you think I'm an idiot" way. "However, I'm not about to hear Sengoku's accusations of how I made his precious boyfriend run himself to exhaustion and then left him faint on the way home due to dehydration or some other shit like that."

"I can look after myself desu." Dan quickly stuck his tongue out, only to draw it immediately back in. "But I guess I could accept it as a prize for my victory desu"

"Oh, what the fucking ever." Akutsu shrugged. "Just, come on." After some silence as they headed towards the nearest vending machine, he added, "I won, you know."

"No you didn't," Dan replied calmly. "Unlike you, I actually kept count. I won, five games to three desu."

"That's not six. I haven't been out of the stupid thing for long enough to forget the rules."

"That's because we didn't play an entire match desu! Out of the games we did play, I won the majority, so logically, I'm the winner desu"

"That stupid Sengoku's spoiled you. You never were such an annoying brat before." After one glance at Dan's grinning face, he added, "Okay, so you were just as annoying, but in different ways."

"So sorry to be annoying desu! It was most certainly not my intention!"

"…And here you go again."

Dan did get his soda, though, and it was his favourite kind, too, and how did Akutsu-senpai know, and as they finally parted ways Akutsu was smirking in a way that wasn't entirely unfriendly and made Dan feel like going home didn't seem quite as dreadful as usual today.

* * *

Sengoku had lately gotten into the habit of always getting to practice ahead of time – something many captains did by default, but then, most captains were not in Yamabuki. As Dan was always the first one to show up, regardless of when the practice started, arriving early ensured him some uninterrupted time with his boyfriend before the other players started trickling in. It was so this time, too, he discovered as he arrived. Quickly changing into his practice clothes, he sat down next to his boyfriend, who was currently intently reading something in his notebook.

"Your hair is pretty." Sengoku pulled the hair band off with no protests from Dan's part, letting the long strands fall down around Dan's shoulders. Running a hand through them, he marvelled at the colour. In shadow, it was dark enough to pass for black, but the highlights were such an electric shade he wouldn't have even dreamed of calling it anything but blue. "I don't think I've ever seen such a shade elsewhere."

"Rikkai Dai's Yukimura's hair is even more clearly blue," mumbled Dan. He seemed somewhat embarrassed at the praise.

"It's not as pretty, though." Fiddling with the silky strands, Sengoku leant closer to murmur into Dan's ear. "But then, neither is Yukimura as pretty as you are…"

"Oh, shush, you." There was now a definite flush on Dan's face. So adorable. "Flattery will get you nowhere, Sengoku-senpai."

"Perhaps, but it's hard not to give compliments to one as lovely as you are, my sweet Taichiichi."

"Pay no attention to the buchou." Muromachi's voice startled him from the doorway. "He's simply honing his flattery skills so that when you finally realize the mistake you've made and dumb him he'll be able to get himself a new love."

"You wound me, Panda-kun," whined Sengoku, quickly recovering from the shock of his fuku-buchou walking in. "But then, I guess I'll forgive you. It's not your fault you want my lovely Taichiichi to yourself, after all; I know he's simply too adorable to resist."

"Oh, no thanks." Muromachi smirked, adjusting his ever-present shades. "No offense to Dan-kun, you're cute and all, but someone in this bloody team has to be straight simply for the sake of sanity. The sheer improbability of so many gays in the same team is driving me crazy."

"Hey, resident bisexual here resenting that comment." With a grin, Sengoku reached for the hair band again to get his boyfriend ready for practice. After all, he had been the one to mess it up, so it was his responsibility to fix it, too.

"Actually, the chances of such a great number of non-majority sexual preferences showing up within the same team are indeed almost impossibly low." Dan's voice was thoughtful, something Sengoku had come to both adore and dread. Adore, because Dan was cute when he was thoughtful. Dread, because Dan talking on data mode was a definite cause for headache. "Then again, taking into account the statistics of other high school teams, even accounting for the unconfirmed cases and –"

Quickly tying the blue hair up, Sengoku's hand reached to cover Dan's mouth to silence him. "Interesting though all that is, Taichiichi, I must say it's about the time you get your head into tennis mode. People are starting to arrive."

Dan didn't say anything, of course. Instead Sengoku felt the tip of a tongue flicking out to tickle his palm.

"Hey!" Sengoku exclaimed, taking his hand away. "Not fair!"

"Entirely fair and just," Dan replied calmly. "It's your own fault, you know. But just to spare your poor head, I'll stop desu"

"Great." Sengoku rolled his eyes. "And now I'll have to stand tennis data for the rest of the day, don't I?"

Dan merely smiled. "You know you love it desu."

"…Well, I'll tolerate it, but seriously, that's it." Sengoku's grin, though, told a whole another tale.


	16. The Triumph of Losing

Disclaimer: I own very little.

A/N: ...It's been close to two years. Truth be told, I'm amazed to find myself actually updating this. I had nearly given up since I lost my old files.

* * *

Nothing in Tennis

_"Love means nothing in tennis, but in life, it is everything."_

_- Anonymous_

Chapter 15

The Triumph of Losing

Dan chewed at the end of his pencil, only barely managing to keep himself from cracking it. This was not good, not good at all. Nothing was going like his data had predicted – nothing, not even their being here in the first place.

Of course, it was hardly impossible. They were a strong team, considerably stronger than they had been in middle school, even. Nevertheless, not even in his most optimistic calculations had he ever hoped to find their team in the National Tournament finals.

The finals which, it seemed, they were going to lose.

Though he had expected Seigaku to be stronger than the last time they'd faced them, he hadn't expected quite this level of strength. They'd won Singles Three, but even that had been a close thing; it had most likely been simply Sengoku's luck. Dan himself had already given up two games before the match was even over; if he hadn't wanted to gather the complete data of the match he would have just thrown his notebook down and marched away so as not to see the humiliating loss. As it turned out, though, Sengoku had somehow managed to turn the tide of the match, gaining a splendid come-back victory.

While the rest of the team had been joyously congratulating their dear captain, Dan had stood aside, going over his data again and again. It didn't match, none of it. Based on the data he had gathered he had concluded Sengoku's match to be an easy victory; instead, it had turned out into… this. The exhausted Sengoku had flopped down on the bench, only barely having enough energy to lift his water bottle. Dan was almost surprised to see him even making it off the court on his own. Tachibana certainly hadn't held back in this match.

If the supposedly easiest match had been so difficult, what hope did the rest of them have?

Watching their Doubles Two walk to the court, Dan tried to keep himself from sighing aloud, as it wouldn't have done to worry his team mates. Even in the beginning he had never expected them to win this particular match; the Kaidou-Momoshiro combination was simply too strong. Now, after Sengoku's only-almost victory, he was even more assured of their eventual loss.

Seven games to five… no, six games to four. If even that. This was no good, no good at all.

"Why such a serious face?" Muromachi suddenly appeared before him, looking down at his face. "Is something wrong?"

"Everything," Dan muttered, glancing down at his notebook one last time. Without even fully realising it, he'd already marked down the end result of the Doubles Two game. Impressive, wasn't it, considering the first game had only barely started.

"Hm, what's this?" Muromachi raised his eyebrows as he looked down at the notebook. "Predicting match results, now? Have you turned into St. Rudolph's Mizuki or something?"

"Maybe it'd be better if I had," Dan muttered, closing his notebook with a sigh. "I certainly cannot win against Inui-san by simply mimicking him desu. Not with my level of data."

"Then don't." Muromachi shrugged, as though it had truly been that simple. Easy for him to say, wasn't it, when he'd had his own playing style figured out ever since he first picked up a racquet. "You have your own moves and techniques, Dan-kun. There's no reason for you to mimic others."

"…I wonder desu." Dan walked to his bag, putting the pencil and notebook inside and taking out his racquet. "I should probably get warmed up desu."

"You don't expect the match to last long?" Muromachi's eyebrows flew high again. "How very… optimistic."

"I'm not being pessimistic, I'm afraid." Dan's lips twitched. "I merely know my data desu." Putting on his best smile, he then turned to look at the gathered team. "Oi. Those of you not playing today – anyone want to help me warm up?"

He found a volunteer easily enough. Flashing his captain a soothing smile – or the closest approximate he could manage at the moment – he then walked off, his mind mulling over the data even as he tried to focus on the warm-up. The doubles match wouldn't be of much interest to him; unless Momoshiro and Kaidou had even more up their sleeve than Tachibana had, there was no doubt the match would go just as he'd predicted. And if they did have some new tricks… well. Sadly enough, he had to admit that they most likely wouldn't need any.

It seemed like he'd only barely picked up his racquet as he already heard the announcement echoing from the courts. "Game, set and match, won by Seigaku's Momoshiro – Kaidou pair! Game count six games to four!"

"…Well desu," Dan muttered, adjusting his ponytail by perhaps 0.62 inches to the left. "Guess I should get going."

His own match… ironically enough, he didn't have enough data to make any predictions accurate enough.

He'd just have to play and see.

*

"And remember what I told you." Sengoku did his best to look stern. It wasn't exactly easy.

"I know, I know." Dan rolled his eyes. "If I play until I faint again, I'll be picking balls until you leave the club. Understood, buchou desu~"

"Good." Sengoku nodded. "Just keep that in mind… and kick his ass for last time."

"You got it desu~"

Sengoku frowned as Dan winked at him, then turned to walk out to the court. Something was… off. Though Dan was smiling, the smile was obviously forced; over the time he'd come to recognize such smiles, he'd had to in order to stay up to date about his boyfriend's everyday life. But why would he be wearing such a smile to a match? Surely their situation couldn't be that bad… could it?

Thankfully, the smile at least brightened a bit as Dan finally made it to the net, shaking hands with his opponent. "I see we meet again, Inui-san," he said, smiling, his voice only barely loud enough to reach Sengoku's ears from the court even as he strained his hearing best as he could.

"Indeed we do." The taller data player smirked just a bit. "I do look forward to seeing how this match plays out."

"Hopefully not like our last one desu." At Inui's prompting, Dan said, "Rough."

As the racquet spun, Sengoku found himself quietly hoping for rough. Not that it mattered, he knew what Dan would pick in any case, now it was falling and he couldn't see from here…

Dan smiled a bit. "You can take the serve desu~" Ah, great. Just as he had predicted, not that he was exactly a dataist. Dan wouldn't want the first serve after all; if Inui's first serve dragged on long enough, Dan might even get enough of a touch with the situation that he could start using Puppy Dog Serves right off the bat when it was finally his turn.

Maybe this match, at least, would go as it was supposed to.

Maybe, if his luck was enough to overcome the obstacle of Seigaku's reign.

*

This was going to be, as Dan well knew, perhaps the most difficult match he had ever played, going against Seigaku's best current player right after Fuji-san. He wasn't even going to count his unfortunate match against Echizen-kun back when he had only barely started; that match had not been difficult, it had been just plain impossible right from the get-go. In this match, he actually was confident enough to think that he stood a chance. Obviously, he couldn't make the same mistake as the last time around and let Inui-san drag the match on too long or he'd certainly lose. However, with a different approach to this particular opponent… maybe he just might have a chance of turning the situation around. And as it just happened, he did indeed have a new approach prepared.

Inui-san walked to the other end of the court, preparing for his first serve. Dan planted his feet on the court, ready to spring towards the ball.

For some time, he didn't even think about what he did. Allowing himself to slip into his best focus, he almost literally didn't see or hear anything but the ball and Inui-san. He was vaguely aware there were points being scored, some by himself, some by his opponent; however, aside from that, he let himself fall into his most natural patterns, following his instincts as he would. For a moment it actually seemed to be working, he was actually holding up his own against Inui-san, perhaps it might –

Inui was catching up with his data, calling his shots time and time again, returning them perfectly. Obviously, his data had been seen through.

Perfect.

Oblivious to the cheers and shouts from the edges of the court, he bounced over to return what would have been a backhand had he not switched his racquet to his right hand. Even after returning the shot, he didn't switch it back. Slowly, slowly, he started to change his tactics. It wouldn't do to follow his instincts, now. He had to follow his data instead… but not his data on Inui-san.

Following his opponent's expressions closely, he caught the flicker of recognition as Inui realized what he was doing. Perfect. Just perfect. It was supposed to be like that, Inui was supposed to recognize it, maybe if Inui recognized he would…

Fall into the appropriate counter strategy for the person whose data he was currently appropriating. Most excellent indeed.

Dan forced himself not to smile as he played on, continuing the pattern faithfully. Running to meet another shot, he let his racquet drag the ground just a bit.

"Chance of a Moon Volley, 78 percent," Inui said, smirking in satisfaction as he backtracked to the baseline to meet the shot.

The ball landed just barely on the other side of the net.

Inui's expression might have deserved a chuckle, but Dan couldn't afford to do that. He had to keep to the pattern, had to follow data even as he started varying it again. Bit by bit, he moved on from this particular pattern, settling into another, one that would certainly be just as familiar to Inui-san. Now, to see just how soon Inui-san would detect his new influence…

*

"So that's why he's been reviewing his Seigaku videos lately," Sengoku chuckled, looking over to the court. "Figures. He couldn't just do it the easy way, could he?"

"What exactly is he doing?" asked Nitobe, frowning even as he was still wiping sweat off his forehead, having just finished stretching after his own, less fortunate match. "Inui's not usually that badly off with his data, is he? And why is he spot on most of the time and then misses one or two shots completely?"

"It's not that he's exactly off his data," Minami corrected, his eyes locked at the ongoing match. "Rather, his data is perfect. It's Dan-kun that's off in the equation."

"Inui's way of using data is analyzing his opponent's movements," Sengoku said. "The better he knows an opponent, the easier it is for him, as a general rule. Taichiichi, though, mainly uses his data to copy his opponents."

"Dan-kun told me once that copy players are the most irritating opponents for a data player, since they usually have a broader range of data," Muromachi said. "So… he's Inui's worst annoyance?"

"Better than that." Sengoku's lips twitched. "Even copy players have their own patterns that they follow. They copy the techniques and moves, that's all. But Taichiichi… since he bases his copying on data, well… right at the moment? He's not only copying the moves. He's copying the data."

"And he's using Seigaku players," Minami added. "He started with Oishi, I certainly recognized that… Inui probably knows their data like the palm of his hand. Therefore, when Dan-kun starts mirroring their data, it's easy for him to fall into the according pattern. However, not only is Dan-kun's data slightly less perfect than Inui-san's, but he also makes mistakes. Deliberate mistakes."

"So… Inui can't predict when he's going to break the data, so all he can do is play like he would against the player Dan-kun's copying? And he can't gather data since Dan-kun's snatching that from others, too?" Nitobe whistled. "I can see how that would cause a headache."

"Exactly." Sengoku grinned rather triumphantly now. "It wouldn't work against a regular player, who would just react to what he does… but against someone like Inui, it's the perfect weapon." He reached a hand to poke Minami. "Oi, Kenta. Make sure you and Higashikata get warmed up in time. I don't think Taichiichi will want to drag this on too long."

"I should think not, especially after what happened last time." Minami shook his head. "I'd hate to see that happen again."

"Worry not. I already made sure he knows not to let that happen again." Sengoku's lips twitched. "…You've got a bad match coming up, Kenta. I can hear Kikumaru screaming about Taichiichi 'stealing' his techniques all the way from the Seigaku stands."

"Yeah, well, the Golden Pair is never an easy opponent." Minami's lips twitched just a bit. "I do believe we owe them something from the trashing they gave us last time."

"That's my Kenta." Sengoku laughed. "…If everything goes well, you can kick their asses and bring us victory."

"We'll do our best… buchou."

*

"Well, that was impressive." Muromachi shook his head even as Dan half-stumbled towards the stands. "I don't think I've ever seen him play quite that well before."

"I know, right?" Sengoku smiled brightly as he gave Dan his water bottle, standing ready to receive his boyfriend from the court. "That was great, Taichiichi. You actually won!"

"I do know that much, my dear captain," Dan murmured, sending him a mild glare that was not exactly helped by the slightly dazed look in his eyes. He perhaps hadn't fainted on the court, but it didn't look like that had been too far away. Silly kid. "…What was the score?"

Sengoku decided not to comment on how someone who knew he had won should have known that much, too, instead just smiling proudly as he led Dan to the stands so the rest of the team could congratulate him. "Seven games to five. We were afraid for a moment Inui would manage to drag it on to tiebreak, but you managed to cut it off before that."

"That's good to hear desu…" Dan blinked, managing a weak smile at his teammates. "Doubles One now, right?"

"That's right." Sengoku glanced over to where the Jimmies were again preparing to face the pair who were forming to be their nemeses. "Care to give us a prediction for that?"

"'M too tired to think," Dan sighed, sitting down next to Sengoku. Only, it hardly took him a moment to slide along the bench until his head fell into Sengoku's lap. "Oishi-san reinjured his wrist a while ago, though not too badly," he murmured. "There's about a 45 percent chance it starts acting up. If that happens, wake me up."

"Oh?" Sengoku raised his eyebrows, looking down at Dan even as the younger boy closed his eyes. "You want to see that, then? Isn't that kind of cruel?"

"Oh, no," murmured Dan. "That's just about our only chance of winning."

Sengoku's spirits fell as quickly as Dan fell asleep.

*

"I'm sorry, everyone," Muromachi sighed, wiping sweat off his brow. "It's my fault we lost…"

"Yeah, sure, we're going to kill you because we're only the second best in Japan." Sengoku chuckled. "Come on, Panda-kun, the doubles lost too, remember? So, it's the majority of us that are to blame. Besides," he added with a wink, "we now have officially the best data player in all of Japan, right?"

"Wrong." Dan flushed in embarrassment. "I didn't win him with data at all, rather to the opposite. Sure, I used data, but it was mainly to sabotage his. I could never hope to come even close to matching his calculations. But then, does it matter exactly what my playing style is as long as it's good enough for a win?"

"You've certainly got a point there, Dan-kun." Nitobe chuckled. "Anyway, I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I think we should celebrate this somehow."

"Definitely." Sengoku laughed. "Though it seems a bit strange to celebrate a loss…"

"As you said… we're only the second best team in all of Japan." Dan poked his side. "Celebration will have to wait, though. The awards ceremony comes first."

"You'd know about that, wouldn't you? Dan-buchou~" Laughing at the mild glare he received, Sengoku ruffled his boyfriend's hair before reaching down for a quick kiss on his cheek. It wasn't like anyone but the team was seeing, anyway.

…That reminded him… he'd better talk with the coach at some point.


	17. The Young and the Old

Disclaimer: I own very little.

A/N: I'm going to finish this thing if it kills me...

* * *

Nothing in Tennis

_"Love means nothing in tennis, but in life, it is everything."_

_- Anonymous_

Chapter 16

The Young and the Old

It was, Sengoku had learnt quite a while ago, rather futile to try to force his dear players into actually practising as they were supposed to be when they were watching a match. Especially a match like this. He hadn't been able to pry them away from Dan's match against Muromachi before; it was most certainly going to be even more impossible now.

Thus deciding that the task was futile, he simply joined the others in watching the match. Dan's matches were always fun to watch, especially one that was turning out to be... special.

"Well, damn," Kita muttered. "Sorry to say this, but Dan-kun's going to lose. Muromachi-fuku-buchou predicts all of his movements perfectly. How can he be so obvious?"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that loss." Sengoku showed no signs of distress over this apparently miserable situation of his boyfriend's. He had no reason to, after all. "Look at Taichiichi. Look carefully."

"Wait a minute," Minami breathed, leaning closer to the wire fence. "He's – is he smiling?"

"Indeed." Sengoku grinned. "And that's not just the usual polite smile, either. That's the smile of a predator." He smiled in satisfaction. "I guess he's finally got it."

"Got what?" Nitobe asked. Just then, Muromachi ran up to the net to return Dan's shot. A smirk on his lips, he hit the ball, confident that his opponent wouldn't get to it in time.

Only this time, Dan was right where the ball flew, hitting it back with ease. Although a bit stunned, Muromachi managed to make a return – again directly to Dan. After a few more shots, the ball struck the ground and bounced off, no one reaching it. The referee called out the score.

Dan grinned. "Sorry, Muromachi-fuku-buchou, but I'm going to win this match."

"This is impossible," Kita muttered. "Muromachi should be able to predict his movements better. Guess he's getting old, eh?"

Dan did win the match. Though it wasn't easy, in the end he not only caught up but actually surpassed his senpai, finishing the match at seven games to five. As they finally shook hands over the net, Muromachi sighed.

"I guess I underestimated you after all," the dark-skinned boy admitted. "Nice work, Dan-kun. I wasn't sure you could pull it off, but you did."

"Um… buchou?" Higashikata scratched his head. "What exactly happened there?"

"Easy." Sengoku grinned. "You know how Taichiichi can read where his opponent is going to hit?" As they all nodded – as though they could miss something that obvious! – he then pointed at the two players. "Here, he went one step further. Instead of just reading the opponent's instincts, he actually managed to manipulate them. It's not that he can't be predicted, it's just that Panda-kun predicted wrong. And even if his instincts were working right at some point, he couldn't tell whether it's for real or not. No matter whether he tries to hit it away from Taichiichi or right towards him, he may go wrong."

"That still won't help him with his stamina or strength problems, though," Muromachi pointed out, walking to the others with the grinning Dan. "Just getting the shots coming to him doesn't mean he can return them."

"But it makes it a lot easier," Dan pointed out cheerfully. "I'll never be strong enough to return a power player's shots or outrun someone like Kaidou-san. But, if I can tweak their instincts enough?" He winked. "It's out."

"Can you do that to anyone?" Minami asked curiously. "Or is it not as effective against everyone?"

Dan cocked his head in thought. "Not really," he replied. "I have to have enough data to imitate them, but then, that was the problem with the original emulation, too." With a grin, he added, "Too bad for Muromachi-fuku-buchou that I have so much data on him!"

"Your data is evil," Sengoku sighed. "Truly, you are a criminal and a vile thing who should be brought to justice for so terribly offending the laws of the good game of tennis." He ruffled Dan's hair affectionately. "You're lucky I'm too fond of you to kick you out on your ass."

"You're just fond of said ass," Muromachi murmured, then threw his hands in the air as Sengoku glared at him. "What? You're allowed to say perverted things and the rest of us aren't?"

"Obviously not. He's mine to say perverted things about," Sengoku said in what he thought was a perfectly logical point. "Ne, Taichiichi?"

"Mess with my hair again and the only thing you'll be allowed to do is howl in pain." Dan gave him a perfectly, cheerfully happy smile.

"...Woah. I think Akuchu's getting contagious." Thankfully, though, Dan didn't seem to make true of his threat even as he dared another ruffle. "Kids, back to practice! We old geezers aren't going to be here much longer, so you'd better heed our every word until we leave you alone with these two!"

He doubted it was the work of the threat, but everyone did slowly start returning to their own exercises. Minami just raised his eyebrows. "Old geezers?" he echoed. "Speak for yourself."

"No I won't." Sengoku grinned. "Just look at Taichiichi and tell me we aren't all terribly old and wrinkly in comparison~"

"Are you trying to convince me you're too old for me?" Dan took on an entirely fake innocent expression.

"I – what – no!" Okay, now he was close to panicking and it didn't even make sense. He knew Dan was just teasing him, he was sure about it, but... was he really that sure? "I – why'd you even say that, Taichiichi?"

He was sure the others were grinning as they walked off, leaving him to hassle with his boyfriend.

-~S~-

It was, Sengoku realized rather soon after getting up, not his lucky day. His mother was too busy with something to make him a proper breakfast, and when he tried to cook something up himself, he burned the toast. Trying again meant he was running late, which would have been bad enough even usually, but it naturally just had to be today that he had agreed to meet Muromachi before practice. His fuku-buchou was not at all happy to see him running up to him, hurried and badly late, and just as he was about to reach Muromachi he managed to fall over. Thus, it was not a very happy Sengoku Kiyosumi who made his way to the club house that day.

Dan was there already, naturally, all bright and happy and pretty, and for a moment Sengoku thought his day had taken a change for the better. Right after that, however, Dan told he had to run an errand of some kind to help his class representative and would buchou and fuku-buchou be horribly angry if he missed, oh, about half of the practice desu? By the time Sengoku had recovered from his surprise, Muromachi had already cheerfully sent Dan off.

From there on it only got worse. The day was cold and dreary, exactly the kind that was not good for practice, and everyone seemed somewhat sloppy. Nothing he did or said seemed to have an effect, and finally he was almost ready to send the whole team running laps just for the hell of it. He kept his calm, though, and instead headed to the side of the courts to get a drink from his water bottle.

Only, the bottle chose that exact moment to malfunction – okay, so maybe he had squeezed it a bit hard, but surely not that hard –, spraying water all over his face. Stupid water. Cursing aloud, Sengoku tried to wipe his face dry.

Oh, yes. This was definitely not his day.

"Sengoku?" Minami said, sounding a bit careful. "Are you okay?"

"No, Kenta, I'm not okay," snapped Sengoku in irritation. "I'm anything but fucking okay. Just – just do me a favour and leave me be, okay?" Ignoring the hurt look on his friend's face, he turned around, wondering what the gods had against him this day of all days.

That was the only thing anyone said to him that day, it seemed, anything not related to the team or practice, anyway. Dan didn't turn up again, in the end, and Sengoku had to lock up the club house. He couldn't help but wonder whether his boyfriend had been so badly hurt he didn't want even Sengoku to see it, given the buchou's recent habit of staying behind in the club room while Dan changed. This thought hardly improved his mood, and it was a very sour Sengoku who went to his classes that morning.

He didn't get any happier over the day, either. The teachers kept asking him questions about everything he didn't know, he had his least favourite lunch, and everybody just seemed determined to annoy the hell out of him. Why this was, he had no idea, but he was convinced this was indeed the case. But his horoscope hadn't even warned him about anything… had it?

There was no afternoon practice, so after classes were over, Sengoku headed for his usual spot near the gates. However, even as he waited, carefully watching all the students walking by, he didn't see Dan anywhere. Finally, as he dug out his cell phone to call the younger boy, he noticed he'd received a text message from Dan. Curious, he opened it.

"I'm awfully sorry, Sengoku-senpai, but I can't meet up with you today," the message told, making his heart sink. Why would – no, how could Dan be too busy to simply walk home with him? They'd walked home every day for months now. What would bring a change to this routine?

Could maybe… no, that couldn't possibly be it. Dan couldn't be losing interest in him... right?

After such a day, so different from his usual luckiness, he might have even believed that.

It wasn't a very happy Sengoku who walked home that day. He wasn't used to walking this way alone, without a more or less happy voice talking to him, perhaps a hand in his if there weren't too many people about. Now he was alone, and it felt wrong. Unlucky, definitely. The crows circling overhead definitely didn't cheer him up.

As a hearse drove past him, Sengoku was just about ready to run screaming the rest of the way home. Instead, he simply walked on, slower than usual. It wasn't like he was in any hurry, after all. Who knew what awaited him when he got home.

As he finally reached home and opened the door, it was silent for a while. Nobody responded to his somewhat unenthusiastic "Okaeri" as he dragged himself inside. After a moment, he finally heard his mother's voice welcoming him home. So he wasn't entirely alone, at least.

"Didn't you say you don't have practice today? You're unusually late," his mother said, frowning as she stepped into sight. "And oh, you look so awful! Are you sure you aren't coming down with something?"

"Could be," muttered Sengoku. "At least I couldn't feel any worse if I did get sick."

"Oh, you poor boy!" Clapping her hands together, she started fussing over him. Any other day this might have made him feel better, but right now, it was just annoying. "Why don't you go sit in the living room while I fix you a snack? Your favourite program should start soon, you're always complaining about how you miss it because of the afternoon practice, right?"

Though he didn't feel good, Sengoku thought he had no reason to make his mother feel any worse, too, and thus he mumbled a somewhat half-hearted agreement, heading towards the living room. All in all, he doubted anything could make him feel better, and he sighed heavily as he opened the room to the living room.

Then he just stood, frozen, staring at the huge birthday cake sitting on the table in the middle of the room.

The next moment he was shaken out of his shocked state as a small figure bounced at him, a pair of slim arms wrapped around his neck. "Sengoku-senpai!" squealed a happy voice, one he recognized as belonging to his boyfriend. "What took you so long?"

"I'm sorry, Kiyo-chan," his mother chirped behind him. "I know you said you didn't want me to fuss over your birthday this year, but then Dan-chan came and said your team was planning a party for you, and I'd been feeling a bit bad about not having one for you, too, so I really couldn't say no. And they said they were going to surprise you, so I thought it best not to let you know…"

"I'm so sorry Sengoku-senpai!" Dan said hurriedly, looking up at Sengoku, his eyes wide and bright. "I wanted to tell you but I knew I couldn't so I even stayed away from practice so I couldn't tell you desu! And then Muromachi-fuku-buchou said I should stay away from you even after school and oh I'm so sorry but I couldn't tell you and I probably would have if I'd seen you and –"

Sengoku couldn't help but smile at his boyfriend's endless chatter, his bad mood fading away like sugar in rain. "Taichiichi, adorable though you are, you really have to lay off the sugar," he said affectionately. "How much have you had?"

Dan pouted. "I have not had much sugar!" he announced fiercely. "You're just being mean, Sengoku-buchou!"

Sengoku couldn't help but chuckle, now. Dan was so absolutely adorable! And as the rest of the team came out of their hiding places, he found himself very much forgiving his team for their sneakiness.

Later on, listening to his "no I'm not on a sugar high" boyfriend happily joining his sister in singing a song Sengoku had only ever heard when passing girls' clothing shops and wondering how Dan knew the lyrics, Sengoku happened to come across the newspaper for that day. Having missed his daily horoscope in the morning due to lack of time, he now immediately browsed to the correct page.

"Be prepared for surprises."

Well, at least one thing hadn't failed him today.


End file.
